But, we all know really, that does not mean that you will live until you are 96 if you smoke as many cigarettes. If you smoke cigarettes, you are actually reducing your life expectancy by around 5 years on average - now that's fact. It does not mean to say that you will live 5 years less than you would if you did not smoke; firstly, it is an average; secondly, you do not have exactly the same genetic composition as your grandfather.

The only way to know if you will live longer - by giving up smoking - is by first cloning yourself. Then, have one person continue to smoke regularly and the other give-up. At the end of such a test, you would have a definitive answer to the question. Of course, you can't do it, so you can't know - for sure!

If you are going to give-up smoking for good, you first need the motivation to do it, so read this list carefully because these are the real reasons for deciding to stop smoking. Smoking cigarettes, it has been suggested, can cause the following …

• Increased chance of heart attack

• Increased chance of stroke

• Increased chance of lung cancer

• Increased chance of narrowing the blood vessels

• Lowering of the sperm-count in males

• Higher rate of miscarriages in females

• Aging of the skin

And remember too, that warning message that is printed on every pack of cigarettes - it has become much more serious over time hasn't it?

The above is not an exhaustive list, but it is surely enough! The big problem is - how to stop. For some people, 'cold turkey' is the way; and, provided you are prepared to put with about 3 days of withdrawal symptoms, you could give it a try. Many people however, need some kind of help because nicotine dependency has become a real problem for their bodies. There are many methods including acupuncture, exercise and hypnosis which have all been found to be effective.

However you decide to tackle the problem, my purpose in writing is to encourage you to take that first step; and simply decide to do it. Commit yourself to quitting smoking for good - for all the positive health benefits it will bring. For it is when you decide - truly decide and commit yourself to giving-up - that you will be ready to take the necessary action that will cause you to finally succeed. So read that list again. Print it out and keep it somewhere you can regularly review it because you must be mentally convinced that giving-up is the right thing for you to do - and you must remember those reasons when the going gets tough; as it inevitably will at some stage once you start.

Now, you need to know this: you are capable of giving-up for good - you may nor think so right now, but you really are! You are capable of rising above the challenges of nicotine withdrawal and you are capable of creating a new, more healthy, future for yourself. So don't leave it until you get the inevitable smokers cough; don't wait until your doctor tells you that you need to give-up; decide to do it now!

Your body will most certainly thank you for it!