Have you have tried, and failed to quit smoking? If so, perhaps that old habit has over time turned into an addiction. Find out now and discover if you have a harmless habit or compulsive addiction - in just five easy steps.

Should habit become an addiction it always follows this five-stage process. Read through each stage, should you identify any of the behaviours or symptoms beyond stage three then the chances are that your habit is likely to be an addiction. This means that the strategy you adopt to quit smoking would need to be slightly different. Up to the third stage, using a single technique to stop smoking can be effective.

Beyond the third stage, a single technique is increasingly less likely to achieve the desired result. If you are serious about being free of smoking you should consider 'layering' a number of 'stop smoking' techniques. This simply means that you use more than one technique at the same time. For example you may choose to listen to the Stop Smoking audio programme at the same time as you use nicotine patches. Whatever combination of techniques you choose to use, layering a number of them together will greatly improve your chances of success.

Smoking - Stage One.

Smoking begins and continues because of the pleasurable sensations it brings. Initially these are emotional rather than physical sensations. This emotional need is called the ‘secondary gain’. If you understand the original emotional motivation it is easier to stop smoking now.

Stage Two.

The environment becomes a primary trigger for the activity. For example, people for whom the secondary gain was to ‘fit in’ or be identified as part of a social group will tend to smoke more in social situations. Should they wish to quit, they may well find smoking in social situations the hardest to resist.

Stage Three.

The body adapts to the physical stimulation the smoking provides. The pleasurable sensations associated with smoking decrease as the body adapts to the activity. This stage is typified by smoking outside the original environment.

Stage Four.

In a desire to maintain the pleasurable sensations that have been linked to smoking the frequency of the smoking increases.

Stage Five.

Smoking for pleasure is seldom the main motivation. Instead it is replaced by a need to avoid the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. At this point the habit is driving behaviour and has become an addiction.

Many people believe that willpower and motivation are all it takes to stop smoking. Whilst it's true that both are necessary to change any deep-seated behaviour, it is difficult for willpower alone to lead to long-term sustainable change. The key to stop smoking is to layer a number of techniques together. When you want to stop smoking there really is strength in numbers.

Want to know more?

For further information, why not read the latest thinking on how to stop smoking from the webs leading experts. Visit our stop smoking articles section.