Seven Steps to a Smoke-Free Life.

• Position: Brief Article

Prior to the first Surgeon General's Report on Cigarette Smoking in 1964, about half of all American adults lit up. That number has declined over the last three decades, but about one in four adults still smokes. A new seven-step program can help smokers better understand their addiction and learn how to prepare to quit. "The more you identify the reasons why you smoke and the reasons you want to quit, the more likely you'll be successful," maintains Edwin B. Fisher Jr., director of the Division of Healthy Behavior Research, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis (Mo.).

The seven steps form a road map for smokers who want to quit, but not every cessation technique fits every would-be nonsmoker. Fisher says nicotine patches, inhalers, books, videos, and group meetings can be helpful, but tools must be tailored to individual needs. These tools fit into the broader framework described by the seven steps:

1. Recognize your habit and your addiction. Every smoker has two basic reasons for smoking--nicotine addiction and pleasure. After smoking has become a habit, it becomes automatic. Simply paying more attention to when you smoke and what makes you light up can teach you a good deal about why you do so and help you develop strategies for quitting.

2. Build your motivation to quit. List the pros and cons of smoking and quitting, thinking about health concerns, social pressures to quit, and life events that will encourage you to stop. Then write down your top five reasons for quitting.

3. Develop a quitting plan. Would you rather go it alone or with a group? Would quitting cold turkey be preferable to...