I guess people having varying levels of difficulty with it - it took me about 18 months before I stopped thinking about having a cigarette 20+ times a day. I found it particularly hard at about 3 weeks, and again at about 3 months. Friends have reported similar timings, usually accompanied with the dangerous feeling of 'I've beaten these, just one wont hurt'.

I've been off them for 2.5 years now and I still feel like one every now and again but its a fleeting desire and not something I have to fight. That said, I haven't had any major periods of upheaval in my life during that time either, and I'm painfully aware it would be quite easy to slide back into smoking.

I had many failed attempts at quitting before finally making it. Patches helped me, most definitely. I found I didn't necessarily feel better for quitting - it was more a case of how much worse I would have felt if I kept smoking.

I'd like to say good luck, but lucks got nothing to do with it - you just have to resist the temptation to light the bastards, one urge at a time.
( enoughblueskyforsailorstrousers, Fri 9 Apr 2010, 22:25, Reply)