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Many people believe that quitting smoking is just a matter of willpower, but experts say that people who manage to quit for good are those who do some planning in advance.

Advance planning can greatly increase your chances of success.

Selecting a method of quitting which suits you, knowing what withdrawal effects you might experience, figuring out in advance how to deal with them, anticipating what will trigger your strongest desires for a cigarette, and making a plan for what you can do instead of smoking are all useful tools.

“Quit smoking” is a top New Year’s Resolution with three times as many people looking for help to quit smoking in January as compared to other months. According to B.C. Smoker’s Helpline, there are a few simple steps that can help people quit successfully with picking the best day to stop smoking the most important:

DO choose a date within the next three weeks.

DO pick a time when your days are relatively routine.

DO figure out some coping strategies for cigarette cravings, in advance.

DON'T try to quit smoking if you are ill on your chosen quit date.

DON'T quit on an unusually stressful day.

DON'T put off your quit date too long-there is no perfect day to stop smoking.

Look at what triggers the desire to smoke and figure out, in advance, how to disarm those triggers. Consider whether an aid, like the nicotine patch or gum, is useful. Make a list of things you will do when a craving to smoke hits you.

Tobacco Facts and Statistics:

- You're never too old to quit - benefits begin right away. For example, after a year of not smoking, your risk of heart attack is halved.

- Many smokers believe that smoking relaxes them. In fact, smoking makes your heart beat faster, makes you breathe quicker, and raises your blood pressure.

- 30 per cent of all cancer deaths are caused by smoking and are preventable.

- Approximately 50 per cent of all smokers die prematurely of a tobacco-related disease.

- Cigarettes are the only product that, if used as intended, will kill about one-half of the people who use them.

- Smoking causes 85 per cent of lung cancer.

- Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in Canada.

- The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that one in 12 men and one in 22 women will die from lung cancer.

- Most smokers want to quit. A recent study showed over half of BC smokers had tried to quit in the year before the study.

- The province of BC has the highest percentage of non-smokers in the country, with 80 per cent of the population being non-smokers. That means that for every adult in BC who smokes, there are four who do not.

- For every two British Columbians who smoke, there are three who are former smokers, and five who have never smoked.