This is an article about how to quit smoking. Quitting smoking is a very hard thing to do--believe me, it took me a while. I smoked for a few years and, when I finally quit, it was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.

As a former smoker, I know how intense the desire for that nicotine buzz can be. It took me one year to finally quit smoking, but it was when I really decided that I wanted to be healthier and wanted to be able to run a tenth of a mile without having to lean down on my knees and hack cough for ten minutes.

Here are five tips to help you quit smoking.

1) Immediately cut back to half the amount of cigarettes you smoke. Let's be honest, you're not going to quit cold turkey. I look at this process of cutting back as starting to gain control over your smoking addiction. If you smoke ten cigarettes a day, cut back to five. After another week, cut back even further. This process will just start to make you think about each cigarette you smoke and you won't just be lighting up all the time without thinking of the consequences.

If you cut back from ten cigarettes to five a day, that in itself is an accomplishment.

The next few things may help you get even closer to your goal of quitting smoking altogether.

2) Start Exercising. If you start running around a track or jogging around your block, your lungs will start getting really pissed off at you for treating them the way you have been. Keep a goal of working out and you will be less enticed to smoke.

3) Drink Coffee instead of smoking. This is sort of a weird one, but it helped me get off the cancer sticks. I don't know how healthy coffee is for you (it's probably not that good), but cigarettes are so much worse. I also used to carry around a water bottle and a pack of gum to try to get rid of the oral fixation of smoking and to give myself something to do instead of smoke. I think pulling a "switcheroo" like this may help you as it helped me.

Plus you get a pretty nice buzz from coffee. :)

4) Tell your friends to tell you to stop smoking around them. If you have encouragement from other people who are interested in your health and well-being, this will make your task that much easier. Or course, if you have friends who smoke and insist on smoking around you, then you shouldn't hang around them anymore. Forget about 'em--you'll live longer!!

5) Seek advice and help from a physician. I never tried this, but I see how it can definitely help. The more support you receive from external sources, the easier it will be to quit smoking.

I tried using Nicorette (actually, I think my girlfriend bought it for me because it was expensive and that was my excuse not to buy it) and I don't know if it helped me that much. It is sort of like exchanging addictions. It is quite strong gum and it definitely gives you a kick.

I think using a product like this or a patch is sort of like taking the long route and it's a company exploiting your addiction with a product that replicates the smoking high, but anything is better than inhaling the tar and arsenic and whatever else is in cigarette smoke.

Good luck. Remember, you will have a hard time with this, but visualize yourself at the end of this journey completely free of your addiction.

Also remember this: every single person who genuinely wanted to quit smoking and was willing to take the steps necessary was able to quit.

If you want to live a healthier lifestyle and feel better about yourself and be able to breathe freely and not smell like smoke all the time, then you are going to be able to do this. Truly, the biggest hurdle is actually deciding that you want to quit. Seriously. The day you tell yourself that you never want to smoke again is the day you will be on the road to stopping for good.