Quitting smoking was probably one of the hardest things I've done in my life...and I've had two kids! The reason it was hard was not physical or chemical, it was personal. I think I was holding onto it for the sake of self-inflicting punishment, some sort of stubborn grip to a guilty conscious that I've never been completely rid of. I was not able to get past the idea that it was for my health and my freedom from addiction...I had no problem quitting when I was pregnant and nursing because I wasn't doing it for me, I was doing it for my child. It finally came to a head when I gave up trying and asked God to give me a little help. One thing I've learned in my spiritual journey is that no matter how hard I try to convince myself, I am not nor will I ever be Wonder Woman....I can't do it all on my own and I am not weaker for acknowledging that (I should note that although I recognize this to be true, I seldom behave like it is!). So I asked for help, and oddly enough (because I can't explain it any other way), I stopped smoking. What followed for days, weeks, months has been multiple daily interactions with God....some of them full of profanity and frustration, and some full of pure joy. It's been like an ongoing fast where during those times that I feel the need to smoke, I replace satisfying the craving with real time with Jesus. I was telling a friend that it used to be that my life consisted of what happened between cigarettes and here I am with all that extra time! It has opened a lot of doors and helped me to start thinking clearly about a lot of things...all this plus my life insurance costs went down and I take the stairs all the time!