I am 26 years old, and I have smoked since I was 18. Although I have always been a daily smoker over these past eight years, I have not been a particularly heavy smoker. Except for a couple months during my master's program, I have never smoked anything close to a pack per day.
But I know that any level of smoking is bad for me and that I should quit as soon as possible. I've just found it impossible . . .
Over the past year or so I have tried several methods of quitting -the gum, the patch, cold turkey, ecigs, etc.- and I can never seem to go more than a few days without a cigarette. I have succeeded in cutting my smoking down to one small cigar per day (those flavored cigars you see at gas stations -I feel better buying those since they come individually). I also chew nicotine gum during the day to stave off the cravings, which I know I'm not supposed to do.
Nights are hardest for me. I get very restless and a little anxious when the day winds down (I've suffered from anxiety and insomnia most of my life), and the boredom that comes on in the evening makes the cravings impossible to ignore. That's when the gum will no longer do and I drive to the gas station to get my cigar.
I think this is part of the reason I've found it so difficult to quit. With my relatively low level of smoking I probably find it very easy to rationalize excuses to cheat -it's not as if "failing" for me means going to two packs per day.
Anyway, I just signed up on this site hoping to find people to talk to about my/our addiction and hopefully get some advice that will one day get me quit once and for all.