What would you do with an extra £186,150

We all know that smoking contributes to cancer, heart disease, bronchitis, strokes, stomach ulcers, leukemia, gum disease, gangrene, asthma, wrinkles and bad breath.

We also know that smoking makes you short of breath and that breathing in other people's smoke can cause headaches and lack of concentration. Each year around 17,000 kids under the age of 5 go into hospital with complaints caused by smoke from their parents' cigarettes.

But here are some myths you may not know

1. It helps me unwind - Cigarettes don't make you relax.
2. Nicotine is a stimulant. It actually speeds up your bodily functions - especially your heart rate.
3. You think it makes you look sexy - Kissing someone with a mouth like an ashtray and having smoke blown in your face isn't sexy neither is lung cancer.
4. You think you'll put on weight if you stop - Cigarettes don't keep your body weight down and they can even cause cellulite. Some people replace cigarettes with food when they give up, and so may put on a few pounds. If you've managed to give up smoking, you'll be able to tackle weight gain.
5. It makes me look mature - Only in the sense that smoking gives you wrinkles before your time. There's nothing mature about smelling like an ashtray and inhaling vast amounts of grim chemicals.

Consider the money Main brand cigarettes now cost roughly £5.10 for 20. The table shows how much smoking costs at
current prices. Let's see what this means in terms of your finances.

No. Years         1yr                     5yrs                         10yrs                        20yrs                        50yrs
5 a day           £465                 £2,325                      £4654                      £9308                      £23,270
10 a day         £931                 £4,655                      £9,308                     £18,616                   £46,540
20 a day         £1,862              £9,310                      £18,620                   £37,240                   £93,100
40 a day         £3,723              £18,615                    £37,230                   £74,460                   £186,150

Your Mortgage
How about slicing £40,000 interest off your 25 year £100,000 repayment mortgage? You could pay the loan back eight years early, according to research by brokers, Charcol. A 20-a-day smoker can save £1,862 a year by giving up, yet when you consider what overpaying by this amount can do to a mortgage, it is even more of an enticement.

Your children
By giving up five packets of cigarettes a month, the extra cash could boost your baby's Child Trust Fund to nearly £11,000 by the time they reach 18.

Your insurance
One of the biggest ways to save when you stop smoking is, unsurprisingly, on life insurance and critical illness cover. You could also save money on insurance claims. More than half of all fire claims in the home are caused by cigarette related incidents.

Your Savings
Why not invest the £100 a month you save or pay an extra £100 a month off your mortgage. Either way it will give you something positive to focus on.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture involves needles being inserted into key pressure points on various parts of the body. The process is not painful and patients are then left to relax for half an hour or so. The needles are then removed except for two tiny ones which remain in the ear. The idea is to touch an ear lobe when a craving comes on.

Hypnotherapy & NLP

Smoking has many psychological associations. Hypnotherapy and Neuro-linguist Programming tries to alter the subconscious mind's dependence on smoking as a habit. Hypnosis or trance is simply a state of mind, a natural phenomenon that we all experience every day. It is not sleep, but a normal relaxed focus state of attention, characterised by feelings of wellbeing, muscle and mental relaxation and the ability to apply new ideas to yourself as long as they are not in conflict with your values.

Do any of these methods work? Of course they do but you may have as many people say they tried it and it didnít work for them. The problem is many people expect the therapist to do all the work - people want a quick fix solution without putting in any effort. In reality we have to take some responsibility. If you really want to give up smoking then you will, you just need to find the method to suit you. It may be hypnotherapy or acupuncture or just good old fashioned will power, the choice is yours.

So what can you do?

• Don't be afraid to ask for help
• Ask family and friends not to smoke around you
• Wash your clothes to get rid of the smell of smoke
• Write down the reasons you want to become a non-smoker
• Postpone your first cigarette by one hour each day
• Ask your partner or friend to stop with you
• Keep busy on the day you plan to stop
• Make a date and stick to it
• Smoke only those cigarettes you 'really want'
• Don't empty your ashtray to remind you of how many you smoke
• Think of yourself as being a non smoker not an ex smoker.

Positive steps

• Get more active. Exercise boosts your morale
• Find activities that make smoking difficult eg. gardening
• Spend free time in places where smoking isn't allowed
• Change your surroundings when an urge hits
• Avoid places where smoking is permitted
• Put something else into your mouth - try carrots, apples etc.
• Tell all your friends and family that you've already quit
• Stop carrying cigarettes with you at home
• Throw away all your cigarettes and matches
• Visit the dentist and have your teeth cleaned
• Avoid heavy drinking of alcohol or caffeine
• Think positively as your body recovers from the effects of tobacco

Think of the savings - and the treats!

• Make up a calendar for the first 90 days. Cross off each day and indicate the money you saved by not smoking
• Take one day at a time - each day without a cigarette is good news for your health, family and your purse
• Estimate the money saved from packs of cigarettes
• Make a list of things you'd like to buy for yourself
• Buy yourself a present to celebrate totally smoke-free days