I have nothing useful to contribute to this thread b/c I never smoked -- but I do want to say GOOD LUCK GOOD LUCK GOOD LUCK! I really hope you can kick it.

We'll, we're well into day 3 and it's not going too horribly, I have like 5 or 6 times a day when I almost get up and go buy a pack but have managed to talk myself out of it so far. It's not too horrible, it's just the times when you used to ALWAYS have a cigarette that are the worst like after class is over, after dinner etc. I contend that the system of keeping smokers down by banning smoking in public places is actually making it harder for the remaining smokers to quit because they have ritualized the smoking habit into certain times and locations.

I second the origami recommendation.

Worst case, you can't quit smoking but you can make neat origami bats out of empty cigarette packs.

Easy way is wash your mouth out with something before you smoke (listerine, lots of toothpaste, etc.). It's make the cigarrette taste like absolute ass and after a couple days of that you won't feel like smoking any more.

Get some poker chips in your pocket and play with them. Play with a pencil or something.

Just try to remember that 80% of the issue is will, tell yourself you're not going to give in to impulses. It's just like pacience in poker. You get bored, you want to get in with that A7 but you stay disciplined and continue folding your bad hands.

On the topic of dying from smoking, I think a lot more people would be motivated to quit or never start if death would just be more clear cut. Here's what I mean, you can never really say "smoking will kill you" and be certain about it, it's like luck of the draw or something. Example , my grandmother, smoked her whole life died at 66 of cancer (too young IMO), my grandfather, still smoking 3 packs a day since he was very young, currently 76 and still kicking, although not in perfect health. My great grandmother, smoked her whole life, lived in perfect health until 99 and died of natural causes. I think I read a statistic somewhere that smoking will kill like 1 in 3 people who continue to smoke their whole lives or something like that, and while a 33% chance of death is not good by any means, young people who smoke don't take it seriously because its not a serious health problem to them yet. My idea? Make cigarettes MORE deadly, get them up around that 90-100% chance of death mark......people won't smoke anymore.

A better idea would make them... um... less deadly?

Yeah I'd be pretty thrilled about that. I'm planning on quitting very soon. I smoke a pack a day right now so I'm trying to cut down a bit before I quit, cause I'm just not the kind of person who can go cold turkey that well.