I'm a big fat quitter. (Vanity to the Nth)

[exDemMom]

Best of luck to you.

I started smoking when I was 15, quit when I was 29. It was tough. I bought a bag of cherry Lifesavers pops and sat on the sofa, curled in fetal position, putting the pop in my mouth and yanking it out in stiff, jerky motions, with my left arm curled tightly around my knees. A week into quitting, the cravings were still so bad that I went and bought a pack, but I bought menthol since I never liked them. I smoked two or three, threw away the rest, spent more time on the sofa with the pops, and, eventually, the cravings eased. I did gain weight--I was already overweight at the time--and get a few cavities, but my teeth have been fixed, and I'm back to my high school weight (not thin, not fat).

The hardest part of the addiction to overcome is the nicotene one--I think the gum and patches help you get used to not performing the physical actions of smoking, but they still feed the nicotene addiction.

Some aspects of smoking still stay with me, though. I admit, when I walk past smokers, I breathe more deeply than usual--I love that smell. I don't mind if people smoke around me, I'm way beyond ever being tempted to light up again. Sometimes, though, I dream that I am smoking again, and then, in the dream, I get upset at myself for cheating, since I already told everyone I quit...

You have to be determined, and stick it out. There is a life on the other side, where you aren't burning your money in cigarettes and you don't think about it or crave it anymore. You'll get there. You can do it.