I’ve come to the unavoidable and not extremely pleasant task of talking about smoking, the cause of more avoidable deaths in the U.S. than any other factor affecting our health. For all of you who are already folding the paper or turning the page because you don't smoke, I ask you to bear with me.

We all are affected by smoking in one way or another. Most of us know or are related to someone who smokes, and we all pay the price of increased health care for smokers.

Even if you don't smoke, read on and take this article to someone else: that guy in the apartment above you whose smoke drifts through the ventilation to your bedroom, that woman sitting next to you whose clothes reek of smoke, or the coworker whose morning cough rattles the windows.

Many smokers, in spite of every dire warning or frightening statistic thrown at them, are just not ready to stop. I'm always thankful when my smoking patients are honest enough to admit that they’re in this group.

For those who are ready and willing to quit cigarettes, the important message I want to communicate is that there are many forms of help available. For those who have tried and failed to quit, you need to know that the vast majority of those who are finally successful have tried multiple times in the past.

Often smokers who want desperately to quit are not aware that there are alternatives to sheer cold sweat, white knuckles, cold turkey will power. Most importantly, there are prescription medications available which have proven useful to many former smokers.

The first of these medications was developed as an antidepressant and is still used for that indication. As an antidepressant its trade name is Wellbutrin, and as a medication for smoking cessation it is marketed as Zyban.

The newer medication used for smoking cessation is called Chantix, and was developed specifically for that purpose.

Both of these medicines work by altering the brain chemistry, so that the psychological craving for cigarettes is lessened. They don't eliminate the need for discipline and determination in the fight to quit, but they can make the process a little easier.

Another aid to smoking cessation comes in the form of nicotine replacement products. These are available as skin patches, chewing gum, or inhalers, and all work by making it possible to gradually wean away from the physical addiction of nicotine.

Support from other people can also be an important piece of the smoking cessation plan. Ideally, friends and family can provide some support. Other smokers who are going through the quitting process may provide mutual accountability.

Professional support is also available through a toll free phone hotline at 1-800-QUITNOW. Smokers who call the quit line can sign up for free, regularly scheduled telephone counseling sessions, working with one counselor throughout the process of quitting.

Additional resources are available online. Just type “smoking cessation” into any search engine and countless sites appear which offer information and motivation.

The most effective aid to smoking cessation happens when two or more of these resources are combined: prescription medication used with nicotine replacement, for example. This combination has been found to be twice as effective for smoking cessation as cold-turkey alone, and the addition of counseling ups the success rate even more.

If you’re one of those non-smokers who has stuck with me this far, here’s what I want you to do: cut out this article and put it on the office bulletin board or on your coworker’s desk or some other place where it will be seen and read.