This is NPR's life kit to quitting smoking. I'm Merit Kennedy, I cover breaking news for NPR,

and I'm a former smoker. Actually, a former heavy smoker. Maybe you've tried to quit before,

and you feel like you're always going back to square one. But here's something to try.

Think of quitting smoking like this. Quitting smoking is a lot like going on a nice road trip.

Gary Tadesky is the clinical director at the California Smokers Helpline. And as you may have

noticed, he has a very soothing voice. I have heard that it is soothing just as long as it

doesn't put your listeners to sleep. No, it's always my concern. No, no, no way. So you're on this road

trip. If you're halfway there and blood attire, what do you do? Do you get a touch-ruck and

get toad all the way back to where you started from? Or do you maybe call trip away? Or do you fix

the tire yourself right there? It's not a one-time event. It is a process. And if I could say

nothing else, I would say never, ever stop trying to quit because one of those quit attempts

will stick. The point is to keep driving forward. And that's what this episode is for.

There are things you can do and ways that you can prepare yourself to make it more likely that

you'll be able to drop the habit. Scientists have been researching this for decades,

and their findings are very clear. We'll break those down and give you plenty of other tips

to help you along the way.

So if you've had a setback before, don't let that discourage you from trying again. Because

quitting for any length of time is a win. And maybe you learned something from the previous

attempt that could help you quit for good. Or who knows? Maybe you're going to be one of those

very lucky people who find quitting easy. But let's be honest here, many of us find it really hard.

In fact, we heard from people who said it was the hardest thing they've ever done.

And one of the things that can help is having it very clear in your mind why you're stopping.

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