My quit date was January 1st, 2007. I haven’t had a smoke since. I *have* had the occasional cigar, but I never finish those, and they’re a rare pleasure. I can’t commit to smoking something for over an hour. That’s just too much, and it reminds me of one of the reasons I hate smoking: it’s damned inconvenient. You can’t do much else while you’re smoking. Smoking makes just about everything harder to do. I used to smoke while doing things I generally like doing like surf fishing and brewing, but it makes those things harder. The other thing I haven’t missed is having to go outside in the pouring rain or freezing cold to indulge in a smoke.
So, anyway, I’ve successfully made it to the 4 month mark, and I’m not looking back. Yes, I still get occasional cravings, but they’re few and far between, and they’re not anywhere near as strong or persistent or long-lasting as the ones you get during those first couple of weeks after you initially quit.
In case anyone else is quitting and comes across this, I’ll say that I didn’t read any books or use any special programs to quit. I didn’t take any drugs or “supplements”, I didn’t change my diet or anything else about my life. I just set a date, about 2 weeks out, and committed to that date, and focused on cutting back enough by that date that not going back wasn’t so hard. I know people who have spent all kinds of money on patches, pills, books, tapes, and all manner of other nonsense, only to come out the other end still a smoker. Most of the people I know who have successfully quit did it more or less ‘cold turkey’. Just make the commitment, and don’t give yourself permission to have another smoke.