Initially, my reason for quitting was that it was such a pain in the ass to smoke. If you fly, you go into withdrawal. Same if you go on a car trip with nonsmokers (they hate the smell... why should they put up with the stench?). Public buildings? Forget it. Long meetings? More withdrawal.

And the money...  a $25 carton a week will total $1300 per year.  That's enough for a decent quality bicycle :)

One important note (and this is a fact): Not all habitual smokers/chewers are or will be addicted to nicotine. You know people that smoke 2 packs a day for a month or two and can suddenly put 'em down with no ill effects only to start again 2 or 3 months later. Those are the lucky ones who don't have the "nicotine addiction gene". I have no doubt that they have the smoking habit but not the actual physical dependency to nicotine. And studies have shown that there are different levels of nicotine dependency - it's not just black or white.   Here is a good nicotine dependency test.

A user who is addicted to nicotine will, to some extent, be "sick" when he/she misses a nicotine fix. For me, withdrawal was like an acid trip... massive anxiety, moodiness, restlessness, tightening feeling in my forehead and chest, bright light hurt my eyes. Once I went into withdrawal, my day was ruined.

Many think that smoking causes shortness of breath. Well... it does WHILE you are actually smoking but once you butt it out, you can breathe (unless you have lung disease already). The reason people who smoke complain about shortness of breath is that smokers ARE NOT usually physically active and are out of shape.  If you are out of shape,  smoker or not, a couple flights of stairs will leave you panting.

What makes me say this? I lived it.  I used diet and a Nordic Track ski machine to lose a bunch of weight in 1993. I had never worked out before and 2 weeks after I got my skier, I was doing 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week - and while smoking. However, nicotine DOES mess with your heart rate. Because of this, I made sure to wait 30 minutes after I smoked a cigarette before working out.  And being an addict, I immediately lit up after my workout.

Odd? Yes, but I was an addict.

 
Gum / Inhaler / Self-Weaning

With the cutting-down (weaning) method or the gum/inhaler for that matter, you still have what I call "nicotine dips and spikes" where the nicotine level in your blood drops, you feel the "pang" of needing nicotine, and then you get the "rush" when you light up, inhale or chew. This up and down of the nicotine blood-level is still feeding the addiction, in my opinion.  However, these weaning methods have been successful for many people.

Zyban (bupropion)
Bupropion hydrochloride (brand names: Zyban or Wellbutrin) is an antidepressant that alters certain chemicals produced by the brain. This drug is supposed to curb nicotine cravings.  So far, most studies have shown that bupropion seems to work best if combined with other nicotine replacement methods.

Chantix (varenicline tartrate)
In May 2006, the FDA approved this drug which "fills" the nicotine receptors in the brain.  In addition to blocking the effects of nicotine while the potential quitter still smokes, it also produces effects that are similar to nicotine to help curb the cravings if the person doesn't smoke.  Theoretically, since the smoker receives no benefit from smoking they will eventually put them down.  We'll see.

Also note that approval for the release of Chantix in the States was reportedly rushed.

The transdermal patch made the most sense for me. The way it works is you start out on the largest (21mg) of the three strengths and stay on that one for 3 or 4 weeks. Then go to the middle (14mg) strength for 3 weeks and finally to the low (7mg) strength 3 weeks. The beauty of the patch is that you keep your nicotine blood-level consistent and this takes the edge off of quitting. 

There are no drastic ups or downs.  The patch gradually releases nicotine at a steady rate as the day goes on, losing its strength somewhat toward the end of a 24-hour period.  The patch must be changed once a day... morning is preferable because of the higher concentration of nicotine being released when the patch is first applied. 

You may feel an itching sensation during the first hour or two after applying a new patch and you should rotate the location, and not use the same place within a 7-day period.  The best places are located on the upper body - the chest, back, or upper arm are ideal and offer many possibilities of site rotation.

There are several brands. If you don't exercise and sweat, get the cheapest generic patch you can find. These will most likely be square. But the brand I prefer is Habitrol. To my knowledge, these are the only ROUND ones. Why round? With the square ones, the corners peel up easily if you sweat while working out. The round patches stick much better.

See the shiny nickel swinging in front of your eyes?  You are getting sleepy... veerrry sleepy.  Sleeeep... sleeeeep... sleeeep...

....while I remove this wad of cash from your wallet.

Different methods work for different people.   Many have succeeded by stopping with no help and many have kicked the addiction by using one of the methods above.  Do the research and figure out which method fits the kind of smoking habit or addiction you have.

Before starting a method that involves nicotine replacement, read all included literature and pay attention to any warnings.

To quit smoking, you have to be ready to quit. You have to hate it. You have to hate NEEDING to smoke. You have to hate paying money to the addiction.

Before quitting, it helps if you make it more inconvenient for you to smoke.  A few weeks before you start a program, set and follow some rules to start living by about where you will and will not smoke.  Again... start doing these things several weeks BEFORE you stop cigarettes and go on a program:

See how these damn cigarettes dictate how you live?   Changing your light-up routine before actually quitting will be a key step in your success at stopping smoking.  Remembering how those nasty things have control over your life will help you through the tough spots.

Inconvenience is a great motivation. You will start seeing how the addiction controls you and getting pissed about it helps in quitting.

I was finally ready. In June 1994, I was motivated and went through the program. I had quit cigarettes.

I didn't stay off of them long, however. The mistake I made was a couple of months after being off the patch, I thought I could take a puff or two in the afternoon after work. Nope. Soon, I was smoking a pack a day again. I'm a nicotine addict and will always be one.

In the summer of 1995, before the conception of my son, I went through the program again but only spent 2 weeks on each strength patch. I had been through it before so I knew what I was up against. It was easier the second time. 

Starting back after quitting or even "failing" at numerous attempts is nothing to be ashamed of.  Sure, it's disappointing - but each time you quit or try to quit, you find out a little more about yourself.  You learn about your weaknesses and your strengths.  You learn what to do and what not to do the next time.  Keep at it and eventually you WILL succeed.

I have not had any nicotine since my second time quitting because I know that if I ever smoke another cigarette, I'll likely start again.

It's great not having the need for nicotine. My 4Runner still smells new and my house no longer smells like stale smoke. There are no dirty ashtrays lying around.  I can go to the cinema and not suffer withdrawal.  Car trips, long flights, meetings - no longer a problem.

Links

http://www.ashline.org/ASH/home.html
http://www.1800patches.com/product_hbt_heavy_program.html
http://www.habitrol.com/index.html
http://www.zyban.com?a=84
http://unr.edu/homepage/shubinsk/smoke.html
http://www.quitbuddies.org/BuddiesIndex1.html
http://www.lungusa.org/tobacco/replacement_factsheet99.html