Iron will and good health key to giving up cigarettes 

reports the German Centre for Addiction Questions, one in every four German adults continues to smoke. Quitting is easier said than done. The problems are often underestimated, says Rainer Mathias Dunkel, a doctor of psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy in Wiesbaden. The danger of relapse is very high.

Men aged 35 to 45 are the most likely to smoke. In general, people have their first puff at age 13. But the number of young smokers is on the decline.

"In 2001, about a third of all 12 to 17-year-olds smoked. In 2008, it was 15 per cent," says Marita Volker-Albert of the German Federal Centre for Health Questions in Cologne.

Weaning people off nicotine has shown some promise in patients who suffer greatly from breathing problems, lung infections or recurrent illness.

It's best to try to find some help when on the path to becoming a non-smoker. There are numerous books on the topic, along with self- help groups and telephone hotlines.

The internet is another good place to go

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