skater

Here's how I did it:

I bought the patches and chewed the gum. You're not supposed to combine them but I couldn't have stopped without both.

I quit hanging around my smoker friends. This was hard, but essential in the early stages.

I quit drinking alcohol. I always connected the two, so drinking without a smoke was hard. Plus, alcohol was lowering my inhibitions. Inhibitions are often a good thing.

I carried around an old dice, which I held between my fingers just like a smoke. Sort of a pacifier, I guess.

I started running, skateboarding, snowboarding, bicycling, and kickboxing. Doing these gave me an emotional boost, helped me make new non-smoker friends, made me appreciate my larger lung capacity, and gave me a way to kill time without thinking about smoking.

I didn't give up the fight. I quit about 20 times before I could quit for real. It took me months! But it was worth it. I can breathe now, can really breathe without pain. I never realized it as a smoker, but cigarettes made my lungs feel like they had rubber bands wrapped around them. After four days without smokes, the bands loosened up.

Realize that the urge to smoke will never completely leave you. Two years after quitting, I caved in and smoked a couple cigarettes. My lungs immediately tightened up and my old cough came back. I felt lousy. I promised myself I'd never smoke again. This time, I know it's for real.