@prufarchy I started when I was 14, smoked a pack a day until 28, then managed to quit for just about 2 years. Then a self-involved acquaintance put a drink and a cigarette in my hand at a party, and here I am after 3 more years of ruining my health from smoking.

On this past Friday (6 days ago), I made a decision to quit and finish it once and for all. It took just the right conditions to launch into a non-smoking mode successfully, and now I am cruising. Day 3 and 4 were particularly rough, and I came very close to smoking, but I survived.

That acquaintance is no longer part of my life.

Final thought. If you are in the first days of cessation, and you suddenly really want to smoke, try this weird trick: promise yourself that you can smoke whenever you want to, just that you must sit and wait for 30 minutes before you do so. Turn on a timer on your phone or oven. By the time the timer runs out, you will probably be over your craving and in control again. Good luck, quitters!