By far the best quit smoking plan for quick and lasting success is to use your own powerful mind. In other words - use your noggin, and to begin with, clear your mind of any worry that nicotine has you in its grip. Why is that, you ask?

Sometimes you come across a quote or saying and you think, gosh so true, I will remember that. Maybe those words give you a gentle push in the right direction or the ever necessary "reality check."

Quitting smoking is easy, but what about staying quit? Actively preparing and taking on board ways to fill up that gap left from smoking, can really get an ex-smoker excited about their new life and the possibilities ahead of them.

This is Sal's story. It's about diseases caused by smoking, and if you start this story, read it to the end, but don't start if you're squeamish. The diseases caused by smoking don't care who they claim and when; they don't care if you've got plans for your future.

The what? If you think quitting smoking is difficult, think of it as a chemical reaction to certain stimuli, that's all. There's a host of strange sounding brain parts that party up big when you smoke. Here's what happens and here's how to have your own party on your own terms.

Do smokers weigh up the indisputably bad risks of smoking's effects? What if smoking was named differently, such as 'Diving into shark infested waters?'