Help thyself!

One of the hardest things I ever had to learn to quit and stay quit was figuring out that the cravings for cigarettes is a two-fold matter. First, you've got to really want to stop smoking, and you can't do it for anyone else BUT you. If you say, "I'm doing this for my kids, my wife, my family, etc..." or anything except "for me and my health!", you're never going to truly stop. You've got to decide that you're doing it for you or you'll resent everything that you see as a reason to quit. Second, you've got to stop ENJOYING smoking. Make it a point, when you start coughing, hacking, yes, even when you first get up and have that horrible gunk in your lungs, to tell yourself, "And this is why I need to quit. Do I enjoy this?" When you go to light up, stop yourself and ask, "Am I doing this because I'm really craving one, or is it because it's a habitual behavior?" If it's not because you really want one, don't smoke it! When you're halfway through a cigarette, ask yourself, "Do I want the rest of this?" If not, put it out! Don't keep feeding the beast, and once you can stop breaking the habits around smoking, you can help yourself quit. I did it, after 19 years of smoking. And you can do it!