One day at a time

[Tigga]

Keep it up! It's definitely worth it in the long run. I smoked at least a pack a day for over 15 years, but the 25th of this month will mark 3 full years since I had my last cigarette. I quit cold turkey, but I did use some generic nicotine lozenges from Target for about the first 6 weeks. I would still go out on my back porch to start on a lozenge and hang out outside for the first few minutes so I wasn't really changing my habit, other than using a lozenge instead of a cigarette. I think I was supposed to keep using the lozenges for 3 months, but after the first 5-6 weeks I wasn't craving them so I switched to regular mints to help with the oral fixation.
The other thing that I think helped me a lot was a simple polished rock. It may sound a little crazy, but I kept a small piece of polished amethyst (my birthstone) in my pocket that I would pull out and play with to keep my hands busy when I was using a lozenge or just feeling antsy. I think giving my hands something to keep them busy really helped to distract my mind and take my it off of cigarettes.
I was pretty convinced that I was never going to be able to quit, so I know if I did then anyone can. Just remember that it only gets easier each day and don't give in!