Don't know why I didn't see this post before, but I'm going to throw in my
Warning -this is long, there's no TLDR version, and it may sound like I'm getting a little preachy at times.
First, congrats to all who have successfully put them down, and good luck to those that are trying.
I'm commenting on this because of the recent posts about it being hard or easy to quit. Not saying either way, I just wanted to share my story, and maybe give a word of encouragement.
At 8pm on 5/18/10 I smoked the last cigarette I will ever smoke. I did this with the help of a book called "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" by Allan Carr. A year ago, I would have flat out called someone a liar if they told me that reading a book would help me quit. Now, I recommend this to anyone that I hear wants to quit, just as it was recommended to me. I have no affiliation other than I read it and it works.
It helps you look at the addiction as more of a brainwashing cycle than an actual addiction, and gives you tools so that you can fight off cravings, negative emotions associated with quitting, and social pressure. It really does make you feel happy about stopping, rather than feel like you're being deprived of something.
It's less than $15, so if you stay off for just a couple days it pays for itself.
Ok, enough of the sales pitch on that, and on to the part that was the "nail in the coffin" for me.
You always think of cigarettes in 1's. "I'm going to smoke *A* cigarette." "I'm going to buy *A* pack", or "*A* carton". I got one of those smoking calculators that tells you how long it's been and how much money you've saved and stuff like that. That's fine, but this particular one shows you how many you've NOT smoked since you quit.
When it rolled over 1000 so quickly I was a little shocked. 1000 cigarettes. That's alot. When it rolled over 5000, just WOW. That's around half a year, and I've done this for 20 years. I was a little disgusted at myself.
It still runs in the upper corner of my computer desktop so I can see it every day.
Again, congrats to yall that have successfully put them down, and more power to the ones trying. It's the best decision any cigarette smoker can ever make. Don't give up, and DEFINITELY don't think you're being deprived or punished. You've just given yourself a second chance! Celebrate that!