Ready to quit smoking? Set a quit date and choose a method — cold turkey, gradual, or nicotine replacement and medication — to lower your risk of future heart events.

Quitting smoking is one of the most beneficial things you can do to improve your overall health and live a longer life. For those with coronary artery disease, quitting smoking generally lowers your risk of experiencing additional heart events. So how do you break the habit and quit smoking? Get ready to stop smoking by following several steps, and remember, it takes one step at a time. Setting a quit date is a great first step to pledge your commitment to your new journey of being smoke-free. You can tell your friends, family, and anyone who will support you during this time to keep yourself accountable to your quit date. Next, choose a method for quitting. There are a few ways to do this.

The first option is called cold turkey — stopping smoking all at once with no medicines or nicotine replacement. This is the best method for some people because it doesn't prolong the quitting process. Another method is gradual withdrawal, or reducing the number of cigarettes per day until you stop smoking completely; this way, you can slowly reduce the amount of nicotine in your body.

One other method is smoking only part of a cigarette. If you use this method, you may need to keep track of how many puffs you take each time, and it may be more difficult to be held accountable or stay on track.

Medication can help fight your urge to smoke as you go through the quitting process. There are nicotine-replacement medicines such as gum, lozenges, nasal spray, and patches, as well as prescription medicines like bupropion or varenicline. Talk to your provider about these options and what may be best for you. The final steps to quitting smoking are planning for your quit day and stopping smoking on your quit day. You may want to plan healthy snacks or new activities and hobbies to have ready for when you feel like you want to smoke. Fortunately, your urges should decrease daily after quitting.  Thank you for watching the "Breaking the Habit: Quitting Smoking" video.