I am an expert in giving up smoking. I have often stated in my articles and ebooks that I do really loathe the term 'Expert'. But I have to claim the title, as I have succeeded quitting smoking over one hundred times.

Even worse so is the term 'Guru'. In my opinion, in the Internet world today, there are FAR to many of these, mainly self-proclaimed, 'Supermen/women' to help you achieve or point you in the direction of every type of success you can imagine. Apart from the business success that they generally claim to be able to bestow, they also claim to be able to MAKE you quit smoking, lose weight or even (believe it or not) cure cancer and other frightful conditions.

I believe that there are 'gifted' people who can draw on unknown powers that exist and are able - sometimes - to achieve a stunning cure or help in a manner that would appear to be nothing short of miraculous. However, we're not talking about these people or these types of incidences. I'm talking about the ones that can ONLY guarantee their miracles if you BUY their product or their service.

As far as the 'quit smoking' claim is concerned, there are in fact, a number of bonafide and medically proven prescription and herbal or natural compounds that can and do often help people to achieve their goal to be 'smoke free'. So, a promise or guarantee that a product WILL achieve this for you is only a 'half lie' as it is possible and has been known to work time and again. The fact about the guarantee that makes it questionable is that there MAY be one ingredient missing, which is essential in order for these products to work.

I'm not a heavy smoker, but not a light smoker either (about 20 a day, which I classify as average or normal, among smokers, at least). I would love not to have to calculate if I have enough cigarettes to do me until the morning (I usually work at night). I'd love to be able to avoid spending in the order of $50 a week on tobacco (that's $2,600 a year). I'd like to not be considered a social outcast in most public indoor places and most people's homes, being banished to the cold and the rain or stinking heat outside to have a cigarette (although I perfectly understand their need and their right for clean, safe air and a pleasant smelling home). I'd like not to have to take a quick trip to the shop at 2 am, in the cold and rain because I've run out smokes. In the nutshell, I'd really like to be able to quit smoking - for good!

Did you here what I just said? "I'd really like to be ABLE to quit smoking - FOR GOOD!

So, with all the reasons I've given above, plus a myriad of others, there is plenty of motivation for me to quit WITHOUT even considering the health and medical implications of my habit, which are even more compelling. Smoking is physically harmful and it is a KNOWN cause of many deadly conditions, which I have no need go through here.

Why do I continue to smoke or why do I go back to smoking a very short time after each of my very lame attempts to quit smoking? Simple. I ENJOY IT. I like to smoke. I have smoked for 30 years and I can't imagine life without smoking. I'd love to have a crack at it, but I am still up against the conscious (and subconscious) knowledge that this is something that I am going to miss very much. I am also, as has probably been gleaned from this article so far, that I am not blessed with a great deal of will power (or whatever other name you want to give it). For 15 months I helplessly watched my wife, for whom I would have gladly given my own life, die of lung cancer nine years ago (at the age of 43). Even after that, now at the age of 46 (I was a few years younger than Kathy), I still smoke. Am I a little bit crazy? What do you think?

As I said earlier, there are many good products that work well in making the challenge to quit smoking much easier. Both those approved and condoned by mainstream medicine and many others of a herbal or natural nature all work well. But they will only work if the one, single, important ingredient exists - The WILL to quit smoking. Not the need, the want or all the sensible arguments and reason but the WILL to succeed, the determination. In fact, I've heard so many who have succeeded, that it wasn't really all that difficult because they REALLY wanted to quit smoking badly.

I hope that one day soon, I will want to quit smoking badly enough to actually succeed but I know that no matter what cure or help I get, it wont work if I really dont want it to. How can it? If you smoke, I hope that you will want to quit smoking soon, too. Good Luck!