Stopping Smoking that is!
I'm a rational, reasonably intelligent human being who has been lighting up cigars for decades. I've just got over a heavy cold and it seems to take longer and longer to recover as I get older and the lungs are more clogged up as the years advance. I am on yet another journey to become a non-smoker as I am sure that I have been living on borrowed time.
As far as I am concerned, it's the fear of not being able to smoke that is the greatest barrier to success. So what is it that I fear?
Is it the inability to enjoy myself socialising if I can't smoke.......well why would I fear that! It is illegal to smoke indoors in public places in the UK, so having a cigar involves going outside in the rain and the cold on my own .....not very sociable!
Is it losing the pleasure that I get from smoking.......you know, that hacking cough and the destroyed sense of taste and smell, the irritability from the decaying levels of nicotine in my bloodstream and the replacement of the drug that starts the whole withdrawal process again.
Is it the fear of not knowing what to do with the money that I am not setting fire to? Should I worry about making decisions about whether to have an extra holiday or change the car for a later model.
Is it the fear of being fitter and living longer? Is my life so horrible that gaining some extra time with my children, family and friends be such a chore. I think not!
Realise that the fear is not rational and that it is a trick played by the drug to ensure that it survives.............because it needs you to smoke to maintain the control over your mind. Don't let it scare you!
The mad englishman.
Those fears that you listed are real for most of us when we make the decision to regain our freedom. We have to remember a quote from my favorite book, DUNE, "Fear is the mind killer...". 
