Doesn't it absolutely amaze you when you see a singer smoking a cigarette? You would think the professional singer would be the last person on the planet to light up. But, as we all know, lots of singers smoke. I know that seems contradictory -that's because it is! Smoking cigarettes takes away the most vital parts of a singer's functioning instrument, those things which give a voice its power, strength and beauty.

There is a ton of information to be had about the negative effects of smoking. Even though we tend to think that bad things only happen to other people, we really do know that the bottom line never lies -cigarettes are horrible for anyone and even worse for singers.

I know I must sound like a preacher sometimes, but this time I'll leave the lectures and talk of my own personal experience and how I quit smoking many years ago. Before I go into that, however, I want to congratulate my older brother Lou who recently quit smoking. He went to a hypnotist and within a few visits was able to kick a very long and powerful habit. So you see, it is possible.

I strongly recommend that you do anything that works. If hypnotism is the answer for you, great! If not, let me share my method with you. It took a bit longer but it worked. I haven't touched a cigarette since I first quit. The reason I'm sharing so personal an experiece is because I feel that smoking is a very personal habit. After all, you must be very attached to something to do it when you know it is robbing you of your health.

To begin with, the fundamental choice to be a non-smoker must be so intense that it will encourage you to quit. For some people that choice is so intense that they can quit cold turkey. If that's the case with you, congratulations! You really don't need to read this article -so pass it along to someone who wants to quit and is struggling.

O.K., so you want to stop smoking. Now what? The first thing I did was to look at my smoking habit. Take a week, or even two if you want, and observe when you smoke. Yes, that's all, just observe. Find out when and how you smoke in all circumstances. During this time keep repeating your decision to stop smoking. Word it any way you want, but constantly choose to stop smoking. At first you do not have to alter your particular habit. You don't have to deny yourself anything. Keep smoking until you have your pattern down.

Here's an interesting fact about smoking that may help you quit. Cigarettes are cured in a 50% sugar solution. I bet you didn't know that! If you have a cigarette habit, you are also a sugar junkie, even if you avoid foods containing sugar. Sugar happens to be one of the most addictive drugs on the planet. It is easier to kick most of your common narcotics than it is to completely kick a sugar/nicotine habit.

Take a look at how much sugar you eat daily. Look at labels. (I fell that if I can't pronounce it, I probably don't want to eat it!) Eliminate sugar from you diet as much as possible if you want to quit smoking. This will ease your dependence. Begin drinking lots of water and taking lots of showers. This will help wash the sugar and nicotine out of your system.

By now you have an idea of your habit. The problem with a smoking habit is that it is automatic. You are usually unconscious of when you smoke, so it becomes an involuntary action. According to the plan I worked out, the first step was to change the habit from an involuntary/automatic action to a voluntary action based on choice. From choice you get control and from there you are free.

Now that you know when you smoke, the trick is to make yourself wait for every cigarette you crave. For example, lets' say you have coffee and a cigarette or scotch and a cigarette or as soon as you get in the car you light up or you always have a cigarette when you're on the phone, etc., etc., etc. Your subconscious gives you powerful messages at these times. Don't ignore it or completely deny it. Just postpone. Finish the coffee and then have the cigarette. If you always have a cigarette when you drink scotch, don't drink scotch until months after you have quit.

If you smoke a special brand, change it. In fact, change your brand every time you buy a new pack! This will disconnect you from the powerful attachment of your particular brand of nicotine and chemicals. See cigarettes as chemicals which burn and smokers as people who are living dangerously. If at certain times you feel that you can eliminate a cigarette easily, do it, as long as you remember that you can have a cigarette if you want. Just never have one at the exact moment you crave it. If you continue this for very long, you will notice that you automatically smoke less.

The next phase includes limiting how much of each cigarette you smoke. Only smoke half of the cigarette. Wasting all that money is going to be upsetting, but so what?! You're quitting soon anyway. Pretty soon you will be free and you'll be saving a few hundred dollars a year!

At this point I began using filters. I used Aqua Filters but I think any filter would work. This will really cut down the amount of substance entering you lungs and will allow your body to begin healing itself. You should also start exercising now. This will stir up the mucous lodged in your lungs and your mucous membranes.

By now you should have cut your habit about in half. There is not time limit. Keep it at this stage as long as it takes. Now when you smoke, with each drag tell yourself you are already becoming a non-smoker.

Once you've cut your intake by half you will probably get what you think is a cold. Your body is trying to get rid of that old black and green mucous (pretty disgusting, but true) and start to purge itself. NOW IS YOUR CHANCE! By now you will be coughing everytime you take a drag. Go for it! That's what I did. It took me six months of these delays and games and stategies but it was an exhilarating experience to regain control over my own body!

Look at it this way: smoking thickens your laryngeal tissue, ruins your range, destroys your lung power, causes cancer and heart attacks and shortens your life by years. Would you let anyone else ruin your career that way! If you try, you can win too. Good luck