The Great American Smoke-Out: Ways to quit smoking

It is time for the American Cancer Society's Great American Smoke-Out.

What do you do if you want to quit smoking? Aimee Richardson, a smoking cessation counselor with Henry Ford Hospital stopped by to talk about it.

The first step is motivation.

"It really comes down to you figuring out why you want to quit," she said. "Really focusing on the benefits for you. For some it might be the money they are going to save, for others it is being there when their grandchildren grow up."

Richardson says it takes about seven attempts on average to quit.

If you try once, don't get discouraged," she said. "It comes down to figuring out what is going to work best for you."

The good news is that there are plenty of resources. Those who use counseling in addition to medication to help them quit have been most successful.

The importance of quitting include long-term benefits of reducing chances of getting certain cancers and the immediate benefit of having more energy.

CLICK HERE for the Henry Ford Health System tobacco treatment services while a list of quitting tobacco tools and resources from the state of Michigan website are available HERE.