July 4, 2012! And - if I could do it - EVERYBODY can! Really!
I hope you will spend some time doing the reading I recommended - especially the Allen Carr book.
Be careful using the gum - use it as the very last resort after you have used ALL the tools in your kit - getting busy, distracting, exercising, changing your mind's direction. If you sub the gum for every cigarette you used to smoke, there is a chance you might become addicted to IT!
Not so sure about "mini quits." Once you stop putting nicotine in your body, the sensors in your brain affected by it start to die off - and the longer they go without, the less insistent they become (the craving). Stopping then starting just prolongs the withdrawal and can make you unnecessarily uncomfortable. Try doing the tracking and separation exercises here on the site instead, maybe? Just thinking about each one you smoke and putting each off a bit is a valuable exercise.
All that said, you know you better than anybody, so do what you think best for YOU. This is your quit!
Nancy
