Blue Cloud,
The only thing it takes is N.O.P.E. - Not One Puff Ever. In order to get to that point, you have to fully understand that you (like the rest of us) are addicts and one puff leads to more and more until we are back smoking full time. N.O.P.E. is the ONLY way to successfully quit smoking.
Now, having said that, is it always easy to keep that determination and dedication to NOPE? Well, NOPE! :p In the first 4 months of my quit, I had 3 slips... the first two were what I would call "minor" slips (although I don't really think there is such a thing) but the last one almost did my quit in. After that, I reset my meter (but put it back to my original quit date after 500 days of it being reset) and have been smoke free ever since. So what was the difference? I made a promise to myself that I would post BEFORE I could ever smoke... and I have done that, with the full intent to smoke, but because of the strength of the people on this site, I managed to stay smoke free.
So, I guess what it takes is desire (otherwise you wouldn't even be trying), dedication (that's all N.O.P.E.), knowledge (that you are an addict and all about smoking and the quit process) and a support site (like the SSC). In my opinion, that's what it takes to quit.
Crave the Quit!
[B]My Milage:[/B]
[B]My Quit Date: [/B]6/17/2005
[B]Smoke-Free Days:[/B] 753
[B]Cigarettes Not Smoked:[/B] 18,825
[B]Amount Saved:[/B] $3,109.89
[B]Life Gained:[/B]
[B]Days:[/B] 53 [B]Hrs:[/B] 3 [B]Mins:[/B] 4 [B]Seconds:[/B] 2