To all the ex smokers in the house

I have been clean 3 years now. I found a very strong reason that helped me avoid cigs. I picked up the habit at 24 age. So it was probably easier for me to quit.

1. I stopped carrying cigs and keeping it at home
2. Avoided cig breaks/tea breaks with friends and colleagues
3. Told friends and colleagues clearly that I have quit and to support me and not to offer cigs - this helped
4. Avoided social gatherings for first three months where I knew everybody would be smoking
5. Started going to gym to reinforce to my brain how better it was to not smoke
6. Picked up another vice which was to eat something whenever there was a craving

Not a perfect strategy, but worked for me. Gained some weight initially but slowly once I had control over the habit, started eating healthy and became better.

I've been an ex smoker several times. It takes will power to quit and some people just might not have it in them. All you need to do is tell yourself - no.

Pro tip: sometimes playing eye of the tiger at loud volumes helps

I quit and it’s been 1.5 years now and don’t feel the cravings too. Like anything in life, you will do a better job at something when you understand how things work. For me it was about understanding how cravings work. I realised I had many false notions about addiction to smoking . Once I understood the science behind nicotine addiction, there is an app called Quit Sure, it helped immensely and I could quit it easily. Here’s the link for that app - https://apps.apple.com/in/app/quitsure-quit-smoking-smartly/id1523992725. All the best