The decision to quit smoking can add years to your life. Like quitting drinking and staying up around the clock, there are few things worse than smoking. The decision to quit smoking shows a positive attitude and a firm commitment to your wellbeing for life. Luckily, there are more tips than ever before, and new techniques that can help you quit smoking that weren't available several decades earlier. Smokers have more resources now, and their transition to ex-smokers is easier than it would have been even 10 years ago. There was a huge study of 900 patients that were smokers. They were given Zyban, a prescription anti-depressant, and NRT, nicotine replacement therapy. They were given them separately and in combination. The group that received the Zyban anti-depressant had 36% success, and the group that tried nicotine replacement therapy alone had a 23% success rate. Nicotine replacement products include the patch, gum, and the inhaler. There was a 39% success rate when they were both combined. That is almost half. With no program given, the success rate is only 5%. Combining the nicotine patch and the inhaler was a good therapy that brought the incidence of quitting to almost 60%. After six weeks, people that used both the patch and the inhaler had quit. About 50% of those who used the inhaler alone had quit. However, the results were disappointing after a year. Only 20% had stayed off of cigarettes. A new study has shown that patients who receive motivational text messages who encourage them to stop smoking are more likely to quit. The motivational text messages upped the quitting rate to 10% from 5%. Remember, 5% is the amount of people that quit with no program. A new study also suggests that some peoples' desires to quit cold turkey are cut down because they underestimate the power of their cravings when they're in a normal state. They may not realize how powerful their cravings can be so they will be unprepared to handle them. There are also books, courses, seminars, self-help manuals, guides, gurus, and teachers that can help you quit the urge to spark up. Allen Carr's Easyway program is one such program. If you have family members, you owe it to yourself to stop smoking. Children with mothers and fathers that smoke and brothers with siblings that smoke and grandparents with grandchildren all need to stop smoking so that they can have a longer life to share with their significant others.