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Journey

How to Break Your Addiction Forever

What You Need to Know

Smokers Turning to Social Media for Help Kicking Habit

Smokers can are turning to websites, Facebook pages, and even Twitter accounts to kick the habit

The Web enables quitters to access smoking-cessation tools anywhere, anytime, and provides a platform for sharing information. But do these sites help smokers quit for good? Read More

SLIDESHOW

Kick the Habit...Without Gaining a Pound

Easy tricks to keep the weight off when you quit smoking View slideshow

CALENDAR

30-Day Countdown to Quit Smoking

Smoking is an incredibly hard habit to break. Setting a firm quit date can help you ditch cigarettes for good. Don’t let the stress of quitting distract you. Here’s a month’s worth of reasons for quitting that will keep you focused. View calendar

SLIDESHOW

Social, Sneaky, or Skinny? The 7 Types of Smokers

Which smoker are you? Check out these different "types" of smoker to find out. View slideshow

SLIDESHOW

6 Common Smoking Triggers—and How to Fight Them

The physical withdrawal symptoms of nicotine are notoriously difficult to overcome, but the psychological cravings for cigarettes can be even worse. To successfully quit smoking, it’s important to know the triggers that send you looking for a cigarette and figure out ways to defuse them. View slideshow

SLIDESHOW

10 Crazy Ways Smokers Finally Kicked the Habit

Check out how these ex-smokers beat the habit. View slideshow

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

An Addiction Specialist Explains Nicotine's Powerful Hold Over Cigarette Smokers

Dr. Michael M. Miller

Addiction medicine specialist

Q: Why is it so hard to quit smoking?

A: The hardest part about quitting drugs is the physical withdrawal symptoms—and it's especially hard to “establish abstinence” when the symptoms hit right away. Nicotine's withdrawal symptoms are powerful and hit the fastest of all drugs. People experience agitation, insomnia, irritability, and strong cravings within two to four hours of their last cigarette. Read More

PROFILE

Breaking Addiction Reader Profiles

• Counseling and a Nicotine Patch Helped Natasha Quit Smoking

• Tiffany Quit Smoking With Anti-Anxiety Meds

• Visualization Knocked Out Claire's Smoking Habit

• Liz Overcame Her Smoking Addiction With Exercise

Read the latest news on smoking

MY STORY

Breaking Addiction My Stories

• "My Sobbing Daughter Kept Me From Lighting Up Again"

• "I Quit My Pack-a-Day Habit Cold Turkey"

• "Support From Ex-Smokers Helped Me Kick My 10-Year Habit"

• "Smoking Damaged the Most Important People in My Life"

Read an excerpt from Nuala O'Faolain's memoir on conquering cigarettes

SLIDESHOW

10 Smokers Who Kicked the Habit

We invited readers of Essence and All You magazines to send in their stories about quitting smoking—some successful, some not. Here are some of the responses that came in. View slideshow

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