Ok...

On the patch... Not really doing that much, or if it is I would hate to see what I would be like without it.  Have chewed a couple packs of gum and drank about a gallon of water... Even have climbed tweleve flights of stairs.

Still have a craving that will not go away.  Of course this is the first day of me trying to kick a pack a day habit, although I thought it would be easier since I smoked ultra-lights.

Any ideas would be helpful.

Edited because I could not spell smoking

Its hard thing to do. Like quiting crack.  
Do not drink alchol.  
I quit with Zyban, it really cut down on the phyical cravings.  
You will go thru 3 days for the phyisical, after that its all mental.
C-rock

Almost 3 years for me now. I used the gum,,but only the first day. Lots of hot showers will help wash the nicotine from your pores. Still the hardest thing I have ever done.

How about watching someone you love and respect waste away for a couple of years before finally passing on.

Do you really want to quit smoking the hard way?

Nicotine poisoning is very real, and can certainly kill you.  It basically causes neuromuscular paralysis involving the respiratory muscles, A.K.A. you quit breathing.  There's also the possibility of seizures and coma.  The lethal dose of nicotine for an adult human is between 40-60mg, which isn't that much.

God Bless Texas

My mom has tried quitting several times.  Her doctor recently told her that she's got the symptoms of early stage emphasema (sp?) and she's still smoking.  I never wanted to do anything that I couldn't just stop when I wanted to, and that's the reason I never took it up.  Something having control over me certainly doesn't make me feel free.

I'm glad so many of you were able to quit.  I've known so many that were unable to.

God Bless Texas

great choice! i quit SEP. 10! believe it or not, my second day of quitting, was the first day of WWIII. anyway, i quit cold, no chems. it was disastrous the first day, i hated everyone and everything. the slightest abnormality, and i could really feal the rage building up! the second...well, let's just say i had other things on my mind. its all mental after a while (three days), and the cravings can be controlled by focusing on other things.

i've been cleaning my entire house, top to bottom, laundering everything in sight, so nothing smelled like smoke. then i shampooed the carpets. then i threw away all my ash-trays. last, i asked my GF to quit too. she did~! that was a BIG help, support, not smelling it, etc.

mental tips - the absense of nicotene will make your mind trick you into thinking that every breath is your last without a smoke. DON'T let it win! the amount of dopamine that is released regularly, because of cigs, is now DRASTICALLY reduced, so that takes getting used to also.

also, convince yourself that it is impossible to simultaniously prepare for survival (buying ammo, training, marksmanship, MRE's - whatever) while killing yourself slowly, and intentionally. (ask any championship shooter, and they will tell you that smoking dramatically messes up your heart-rate, makes your hands tremble, and ultimately affects your accuracy!)

lastly, consider saving $5.00 daily, add it up over time, and you'll see that you can get a "fatty" pre-ban AR every year from now on, with the $$$ you save! [:D] GOOD LUCK! in a couple of weeks, you'll ask yourself what the hell you were thinking!!!

I tried quitting several times with every kind of treatment you can think of. What finally worked for me was a combination of the patch and Zyban. I used the patch by itself before but I was a real handful to deal with in the first few days and eventually went back to smoking. Zyban gets rid of the "need to kill feeling" that is associated with withdrawal from nicotine in the first few days. I did both for about 2 months and was pretty mellow through the whole ordeal.
 I have not smoked or wanted one in 3+ years and yes life is a lot better not being chained to the cigarettes. More money for stuff (guns&ammo) and personal satisfaction that is priceless. NEVER GIVE UP AND NEVER SURRENDER!!!
 Just remembered, when I smoked coughing was a way of life. After I quit smoking, coughing now means your about to get very sick. Maybe thats what it means when you are smoking too?

All I can say is stick with it.  I went cold turkey 1 year 2 months and 13 days ago after 15 years of roughly a pack a day.  Best thing I ever did!  It's not easy, and even now, I still crave it once in a while.  Try and find something to occupy your mind.  Most of all, STICK WITH IT!  It does get easier!

[b]ZYBAN!!![/b]

Good luck...it's a tough road.  Hang in there.

I looked into getting Zyban, but my health-care will not cover it.  Does anyone know around how much it runs?

I think it's about $90 - $110 per month.  Around the same as smoking.  After the first month, I switched to Wellbutrin (the same thing) because I told my doctor that I felt better on the drug.  My insurance covered Wellbutrin so I think I only paid $15 per month.

Quick story:  During his presidency, Dwight Eisenhower quit smoking after suffering a heart attack.  A reporter asked him if he thought he’d ever start smoking again.  Ike said he didn’t know if he’d ever start again, but he certainly would never stop again.

It is tough.  I quit 16 years ago after smoking for 25 years.  It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.  I had tried probably half a dozen times before to quit and had failed every time.  Finally I just went cold turkey and made myself do it.

I had ultimately realized that smoking was going to cripple and/or kill me.  I started seeing too many acquaintances dying of heart attacks and cancer after smoking for years.  I also saw how emphysema could totally destroy someone’s quality of life.

Sadly, one of the best bosses where I worked retired in his early 50’s (LEO retirement).  He was a heavy smoker.  I don’t think he was retired more than 2 years when he developed cancer.  It moved into his spine, brain and everywhere else and killed him.  He had worked hard for over 30 years and when things finally were going his way – he lost everything.

I’m retired now, myself.  All I have to do is stay alive and I get an annuity check every month.  (Now if I could just lose some weight!)

Quit now!  Do it for yourself, do it for your family.  Do it so you can retire and collect retirement from your employer as long as possible to get even for all the grief they put you through.  Do it so you can continually aggravate the anti’s and so you can vote in every election for pro-gun politicians!  Don’t give all this up for some brief, questionable pleasure.  Hang tough!

I am currently taking Wellbutrin as my Med Insurance wouldn't cover Zyban either.  Check it out.  It sure seems to be helping.

It's a tough ride, but worth it. It usualyl takes a few times before you quit for good, so don't feel bad if you fall off the wagon.
I've been off for about 2mo now and think I have it pretty much licked this time, though I ran out of patches is weekend and about lost my mind... Do the steps with the patches, al the way down the the weak ones.
I tried the pills but they made me act really strange.
It tough for the first month, then gets better.

FWIW: Wellbutrin and Zyban are the same monster, Wellbutrin is the generic version.
The stuff does work though, it just has some funny side effects is some people. For the first 2 weeks it made me act nervous and I couldn't stay still. After 2wks I was so mellow it was scary.

In the end, it's all willpower... The patch and the pills just sort of help you out.

Yea, What Waldo said... I stayed home and away from people as much as I could for the first few weeks... Now I can drink around smokers and resist the urge.