Karen, Karen, Karen. You must be willing to be uncomfortable for a while. And yes, all you're going to think about is smoking in the initial stages of this rite of passage. It will consume you, if you let it. That's why it's important to change routines. I remember being so happy when I managed to get through a couple of blasted hours without thinking of a cigarette and then I'd go to the grocery store and see a discarded butt on the ground and wham. And I'd be SOOO pissed off that that reminder was there. But that's life. There are prices you pay when you smoke and prices you pay when you give it up. But there are no rewards to smoking. That part is all in our minds.
Try this: don't smoke for half a day. Go through every nook and cranny in your house and throw out any cigarettes hidden anywhere. Take your ashtrays, lighters, all smoking paraphernalia and either throw them out, take them to a thrift shop or give them away. (If you don't do this it means you're not really serious about quitting.) If you have butts in your garbage, take the garbage out and throw it away so that you can't get to the butts. Throw out the cigarettes you bought. yesterday. Now - do not smoke for 6 hours. Just 6 hours.
If you go buy another pack - throw them out at the end of the day. The demon will say - "oh but I've spent all this money on them....what a waste." (What the waste is, is of your life.) Pay absolutely no attention to that trickster and throw them away. Throw away enough packs and you'll get the message. You wanna stop throwing your money away? Then stop smoking.
What are doing when a craving hits? Here's what I did: I took slow deep breaths, I sucked on a water bottle. Our need to suck is primal, so don't just drink it out of a glass, go get a bottle with a nipple on the end (like those sports bottles). I "pretend" smoked with straws (did that a LOT) and I stuffed my face with raw vegetables. I exercised. I wrote in a journal. I posted on line. I did everything, but I didn't smoke.
Again I say - you have to be willing to be uncomfortable for a while. Do not think of this in terms of forever, it's too overwhelming. Take it in little bits, one minute at a time.
