Inspired by the 'Smokers/Non-Smokers: What's your opinion?' thread, I have some questions...

For those who have quit smoking, how did you do it? Why did you do it? What made you make the final decision to quit? Was it gradual or did you stop cold turkey?

For those who are trying to quit, what's the hardest part of quitting?

For those who aren't wishing to quit, what makes you not want to quit?

I quit smoking eight weeks ago using Chantix. Watching my dad die slowly from lung cancer kinda helped my decision, but ultimately, it was my daughter who helped me decide. I loved smoking and if it wasn't a carconigen, (spelling sucks) I would still be smoking. But, I'm cool with out cigarettes.

I stopped cold turkey. I didn't have any problems quitting, but I don't have an addictive personality and I am also very determined.

I stopped purely because I couldn't afford it anymore. I still enjoy the odd one whilst out drinking though ;)

I quit cold turkey, because it was disgusting. It really isn't as bad as most people make it out to be -- it's just about a week and a half of a bad mood, and then you're fine. That's what happened with me, anyway.

i'm an ex-smokerr. i just quit cold turkey. my fiance didn't like my smoking and i didn't like his chewing so we made a deal and quit together. i sometimes smoke when i'm drinking and i smoked once when he pissed me off, but that's it. cold turkeyy.

i smoke about half a pack a day. i only smoke name brand menthols.
For me, its my thing. I work 44 hours a week, go to school for 28 so buying a pack of $8.50 every two days is my 'treat' to myself.
As gross/unusual/strange as it may sound, i enjoy it.

it doesn't sound gross/unusual/strange to me! i miss it sometimes! haha.

I stopped cold turkey when I found out I was pregnant.
I smoked about a pack and a half to two packs a week before that.

I do miss smoking, and am not sure if I will start up again after I deliver.
It was a form of habit, but I also really enjoyed smoking.
Even though right now, I can't stand the smell of it.

I had a pack a day habit, that was gradually turning into a pack and a half a day habit (30 a day). It was something I associated with driving, after eating, before bed, first waking up, breaks at work, and it was pretty bad at times. I quit cold turkey on September 29th 2009. I had been sick with bronchitis and the flu, and smoking was just making it worse. I was so exhausted that I could barely move, and I was so sick that I couldn't tell if I was going through withdrawal or if it was just me being sick.
I realized a few days later that I had essentially quit smoking, so I gave away the pack and a half that I had left, and left it at that. I still have cravings pretty much every day, some days worse than others. Same thing with smelling them. Both of my parents still smoke, and I can smell it on them when they come home. Some days, it'll make me feel ill, and others, I'll just want a cigarette.
The thing is, it's an addiction. Once an addict, always an addict, and while I may not be smoking now, those receptors in my brain still go haywire once in a while, and I'll feel like I'm having a nic-fit. The hardest thing for me was being around smokers. I'm surrounded by them at home, at work, and a lot of my friends smoke. Work is a big problem, because so many of my coworkers smoke, and I'm used to going on smoke breaks with them. I've messed up a few times, taken a drag here or there, and every time, I've felt sick.
I try not to think of it in terms of "I quit smoking", and I try not to gloat about it, because the last time I made a big deal about quitting, I failed miserably. I'm taking it one day at a time, so that if I do screw up, it's not a huge deal, and I don't feel like I failed.

Lol, maybe I should just write an entry...

i remember when my grandma had to stop when she had her heart surgery... she had the craziest nic-fit!! she was hittin me up for cigs and i was only 12!!

I never tried smoking and stuff so I don't know, but for my boyfriend h quit cold turkey. He keeps saying the first three days were the hardest, but he just pushed through it. Now that he has been without a cigarette for 17 days it is now I believe, he says he is fine. When someone around him is smokig he says it would be nice to have one, but he doesn't really want one. He did put his pack that had half of them left in the freeze though. So that kind of takes some stress off. And every now and then I see him go in there, put one in his mouth, and then he puts it back in the pack and back in the freezer. He said he just wanted it to be in his mouth and stuff. *shrugs*

My husband just answered this for me. He quit because I told him he would have to start smoking outside after I got pregnant, and shower after ever cigarette, he had been smoking since he was 12, and he was very addicted, 2 packs a day. He knew it was bad for me and the baby, and for him, and he didnt want to do it anymore. He threw a full pack away, and quit cold turkey, he hasnt touched a cigarette in 5 years. He doesnt miss it. The hardest part for him was the first three days, then it was all gravy. He quit meth the same way, he hit rock bottom and realized living with a needle in his arm wasnt right. He quit cold turkey and has been clean for almost 6 years.

That's wonderful and amazing. Good for him! :) I know that has to be so hard. My fiance did the same with smoking. Cold turkey. He had been doing it since he was 15 and he just couldn't because of his heart problems. He liked living and knew what would happen if he continued. He hasn't touched one since.

I quit cold turkey after smoking for 7 years. It was hard in the beginning, and it took me about a year to stop missing it, but now there's no way I'd go back to it.