You CAN do this...even cold turkey. I know it's hard, I've quit 3 times. BUT, Gary is absolutely right, the worst part is over in a week. You can stand withdrawal for a week, it is only 7 days! And there are many things worse than nicotine withdrawal that people withstand for much longer periods of time.
I quit for 3 years in 1990 and for 19 months in 2001. I just quit again two weeks ago today for the LAST time (I've learned the hard way that I can NEVER take another drag, ever, relapse is too easy). Having stopped so recently, the discomfort is very fresh in my mind. I can guarantee you that it IS manageable. My suggestions are to 1) become as educated as you can about nicotine addiction, it really will help you beat this thing 2) give yourself permission to do ANYTHING except smoke during that rough first week. I know my failures and those of others I've watched were often abetted by our desire to seem "cool" or "tough" (isn't that why we got sucked in to smoking in the first place?). Give yourself permission to cry, scream, be a bitch, be weak, lay in bed all day...whatever as long as you don't smoke! This really helps! 3) Finally, don't think about a whole long future of not smoking, that is too hard to get your mind around at the beginning and can lead you to feel deprived and depressed. Just tell yourself you won't smoke "today" or "this afternoon" or even "for the next five minutes"! Break it up into manageable chunks of time and before you know it you'll have weeks under your belt.
Of course, after only two weeks, I still have several cravings a day. BUT, they are totally manageable and I feel nearly 100% normal again. Two weeks is not very long! I know from experience that it gets alot better with more time too.
Here are two sites with addiction info and support boards. The first is pretty hard core and "cult" like on the boards, if it is not your style, just ignore that part, but it does have alot of good information on how nicotine addiction works. The second is a good support board for talking to other folks who are taking the plunge too.
www.whyquit.com www.quitnet.com Good luck! I KNOW you can do this...there is absolutely nothing special about those of us who have quit. If we can do it you can do it!
