Do you smoke cigarettes?

[Moostache]

7. I was a smoker for 20 years...

From 17 to 37 I never went more than 12 HOURS without a smoke...a diagnosis of renal cell carcinoma at 37 made me an ex-smoker that same day, cold turkey (with nicotine lozenges and gum for 14 days). Been cigarette-free ever since, but it was hard and required me to essentially reform my entire social life and activities and abandon activities that I once did. The bans on indoor smoking over the last decade have been a HUGE boon to me! Places like bowling alleys, pool halls and a few sports bars became accessible to me once more without the reflex desire to light up.

It took less than a month to kick the physical withdrawals and beat back nicotine addiction.
It took the better part of a decade of non-smoking to beat the emotional and habit cravings.
I honestly don't have the desire to smoke as strongly anymore, but like any addict, I am always one puff away from a potential relapse.

My wife has lost this battle many, many, many times over this same period. She is unlikely to ever make it and while that saddens me, it no longer angers me. I want her to quit to allow us the maximum time together and the maximum opportunities to ENJOY that time...but addiction has her by the throat and its not letting go. I was lucky, my triggers and emotional crutches for smoking revolved around social activities, not work or job related and that made all the difference for me versus my wife's struggles.

If you DO smoke, and you WANT to quit, the only thing I can offer from my personal experience is you have to be willing to let the person you are today die, so that the person you want to be tomorrow can have a chance to arrive. Good luck to those at the beginning or struggling in the middle - it is never easy, it is never 100% 'over' either...but it can be better and it does get the volume turned down eventually too.