If you are a smoker, then the overwhelming odds are that you have attempted to give up smoking, even if you never told anyone that you were trying to give up.
The old joke among smokers is that they have given up giving up.
That is a real shame and a very sad joke.
Most smokers began while they were young and impressionable, but it takes a great deal of willpower to give up for good.
If you are trying to stop smoking, then I hope that some of the suggestions set out below will be of use to you in your task to kick the habit.
The truth is that it takes most people years to certainly give up smoking, although there are lots of people who give up one day and never smoke again - ever.
It just depends on the sort of person you are really.
Some people can cut down gradually and others know that if they are going to stop, then they need to make a clean break once and for all.
It is straightforward to judge progress with the person who ceases from one day to the next, but a great deal more difficult to do the same with someone who cuts down.
For example, how long is someone going to take to reduce from one packet a day to two? How does a partner know when someone is smoking ten cigarettes an evening, that they have not already smoked thirty during the day? It is a big problem.
In the end, the quitter is on his own and if he or she wants to tell lies about their progress, they can.
No-one else will know, but at the end of the day, they are merely telling lies and attempting to fool themselves that they are trying to give up smoking.
Having said that, a smoker must reward himself for each step of real progress.
A good tip is not to rely on just one strategy to give up.
For instance, you could wear a patch and reduce your intake by five or ten real cigarettes every week.
Try nicotine gum at the same time.
Always tell people that you are giving up and never take a cigarette off anyone and never offer anyone one either.
Do not get into 'rounds' or 'flashes' of sharing cigarettes.
If you find that you smoke more when you are in a stressful situation, such as at the time to submit the end of year accounts, hold off attempting to quit until after then.
One of the times that most smokers have a big difficulty cutting down is when they are in the pub drinking alcohol with their friends.
This is almost certainly the hardest time to conquer the habit.
Many people like a cigarette with a drink after finishing work and if you fit into this category, try to go home from work for a drink or give up smoking with a friend and take it in turns to go to their house and yours for a drink after work.
Once the first three months are up, you could go back to the pub and see how you get on or you simply might not want to anymore.