Making use of dangerous drugs such as Prozac or Zyban are not really the way to go about stopping your addiction to nicotine. In a way it is just like replacing one dangerous drug with another. So to is using NRT, so there has to be another way to stop smoking without using nicotine replacement, and there is. In fact there is a wealth of information available in the form of self help, but it is hard to stop smoking and even harder when you are on your own in this quest.

And we do not all have the willpower of General De Gaulle who was a heavy smoker. And one day the realization came that the cigarettes were in control, not him - so he just quit! But we are not all made of the same stuff. Physical, psychological and emotional addictions are very difficult to control and changing the way we do things is also not easy, particularly if we still want to be around others who smoke. You can’t all of a sudden stop being friends with smokers because they smoke and you don’t want to.

What seems to be working very well is the free telephone counseling some states in the US have started. Counseling is a far better alternative to nicotine replacement therapy and has actually proven to be working. Studies have proven that by utilizing this type of support, the chances of quitting double.

As a habit forming substance, nicotine is one of the most potent we know of. This is why support is so important for the smoker looking to quit. This support starts at home with his family and extends, through friends, so-workers, employers and obviously the counseling service they are making use of. Encouragement is vital in this attempt to break the habit and ex-smokers swear that the support they receive is one of the chief reasons for achieving success.

There are many available resources for the person who wants to stop smoking. Health insurance companies, your local gym, hospitals, support groups and even your employer. However these just make some of the resources available, and the most efficient assistance does come from a trained counselor.

Available counselling can be shared with a group or on an individual basis, and even phone counselling has its benefits. Because counselors are trained to help the smoker deal with the physical and emotional side of giving up this addiction, their assistance it so much more valuable, and much more than just a shoulder to cry on, it is also about understanding the withdrawal.

You must remember that the withdrawal symptoms will last up to three or four days as the nicotine still remains in the body. These will probably only last a few days but may go as long as a couple of weeks. Support is needed the most at this time so that the smoker has someone to turn to rather than back to the cigarettes.

The beauty of using counseling to get over the urge to smoke is that you don’t have to use NRT, and you also don’t have to use any dangerous drugs. It has been shown in clinical studies that there is a four times increase in the success rate when a smoker receives the correct counseling. Trying to do this completely alone has been found to be the least successful strategy of all.

Before deciding on a stop smoking system, be sure to visit SmokingReviews.org to discover about the best methods around to help you quit smoking today!