Cigarette smoke dumps more than 4,000 chemicals into your body, including arsenic and cyanide (yes, rat poison). So it's tempting to assume that until you quit smoking, it's better to smoke "light" than regular cigarettes. The truth: These aren't any healthier. And they may even stop you from kicking your habit.

A new study found that people who switched to light cigarettes were more likely to attempt quitting -- but were 46 percent less (yes, LESS) successful at quitting than non-switchers.

We're not surprised. If you really want to quit, here are the bare bones of the most successful plan (find details at RealAge.com):

1. Don't quit for a month. Instead, start proving to yourself that you can feel better and can do something important for yourself with the healthy habit of walking 30 minutes a day, every day for a month.

2. Find a quitting buddy, and touch base every day. You're more likely to make a permanent change when you have support.

3. Ask your doctor about stop-smoking pills. Only 2 percent of people who quit "cold turkey" stop the first time. Use nicotine patches and anticraving pills (buproprion) when your quit date comes around, and the success rate jumps to 60 percent.

4. Tally the benefits. Within 24 hours of quitting, your heart attack risk decreases. In a year, your risk of coronary disease drops to half that of a smoker. And the wrinkles and other signs that your blood vessels are aging fade, so you look and feel significantly younger -- more than five years younger within about two years of being smoke-free.

The YOU Docs, Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen, are authors of "YOU: The Owner's Manual." Want more? See "The Dr. Oz Show" on TV (check local listings). To submit questions, go to www.RealAge.com.

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