[كونزيت]

The Mind and Body Connection
That's because smoking is addictive—both physically and psychologically. The physical addiction can be traced to the nicotine in each cigarette. It hooks you just as completely as its more disreputable cousins, such as heroin and cocaine, say researchers, and the withdrawal symptoms—cravings, anxiety, nausea, cramps, depression, and dizziness—are similar.

Like these other drugs, nicotine surges through the bloodstream and gives smokers a high—a quick jolt that makes them think they feel better. But, in the meantime, what really happens is that smokers develop a tolerance for nicotine, which is why they go from a couple of butts a day as a teenager to 2 1/2 packs a day as an adult.

The psychological addiction is, in its own way, just as bad. Smoking becomes second nature, like blinking or breathing. If you consider that one pack of cigarettes can turn into 150 to 200 puffs a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, you'll see how hard it is to de-program yourself.

The Key to Quitting
But you can quit. In fact, one million Americans quit smoking every year, and almost 50 million Americans are former smokers.

"The thing to keep in mind is that almost everyone who quits has to try more than once," says Anne Davis, M.D., a past president of the American Lung Association. "You shouldn't be discouraged. It's more rare to quit on the first try than on the fifth. Some people have to try as many as 10 or 11 times."

The key to quitting, say the experts, is patience and perseverance