People,
Besides going into the rights and wrongs of giving up ciggies, has anyone got stories of successful methods to get rid of them? The research environment is one where the temptation of going back on them is ultra-strong (between the numerous breaks and the nights out ... three pints in and its the looking for shrapnel time for the ciggie machine)
Any tales of success would be appreciated. About a month off them now and feeling the benefits but this usually goes belly-up the next real bad day in the office.

No offense to the non-smokers, but I know the bad side well enough. But unless you have smoked, you don't know the urge just to say "To hell with reason - I NEED this ciggie now!", so looking for actual proven ways.

The reduced intensity of the few hangovers I have had since giving up has been one reason

Hey!!!
One of my cousins who was a chain smoker gave up smoking half a year ago.... I mean he just said one day to me that he would give up the cancer stick and didnt once touch it after that. So although it sounds 'miraculous' it is POSSIBLE. I would suggest that u start by cutting the number of cigerettes u smoke gradually till u come to ZERO cigerettes a day. Find out why u r addicted to smoking... for e.g some people smokle more when they are stressed. So think of an alternative way to fight stress- gymming or swimming perhaps. Some people also try to chew gum so that they reduce their ciggy breaks. Try a nicotine patch... Helped one of my friends!!!She took a couple of moth to kick the habbit , but she surely did it in the end.
Gud luck with kicking the ciggy habit!!!

Ta Pari,
I usually just go cold turkey on it, but its the nights out that really get me (or the really hectic days). Thinking of just getting some ring or something to that effect so that when the urge kicks in, that would remind me. Going to the gym and , after the usual giving up 'flu, now feel a lot better health-wise (also doing Tai Chi ... laugh on but it is great). Want to get rid of the set of spare tyres for Christmas.
It is just, as any smoker will testify, the whole "Ah I'll only have one", and then ya buy a pack of twenty and slowly but surely, end up smoking during the day again.
Thanks for the post and have a good weekend,
Bonzo!!!

Good luck with it! It'll save you so much money. One of my friends put her fag money in a jar from day one of quitting, and said that if she smoked again she'd have to give it to charity, but if she went six months without she'd spend it on some stupid shoes. She did get to buy the stupid shoes, but I think she's smoked a few since then, so not a 100% end to it.

Despite the stories of failure (and those nicotine-patch manufacturers telling you it's impossible without their product), I found it suprisingly easy. I coughed up crap for a few weeks afterwards, but that's just the old lungs getting to work again. I only really missed it in a social, not a physiological, way. I think all you need to do is wait: boring I know.

I did read this advice in the Sunday papers once: it was referring to keeping resolutions in general. Write out a cheque for 100 pounds to an organisation you really hate (UKIP was the example given), and hand it to a trusted friend, with instructions to mail the cheque if you give in to temptation. The thought of UKIP getting 100 quid of your money should be enough to keep you off the cigarettes.

Thanks lads and ladies for the advice - unfortunately I slipped up again when I was out over the weekend which made the hangover twice as bad so only now getting around to doing work I was meant to have done earlier :-( Like Will E. Coyote, I guess its back to the drawing board - now where's Acme's telephone number?

Juno - that is actually a good idea, although I would rather see my money not helping anything at all that I would fundementally disagree with (maybe I might make it out to the supporters club of one of the teams I don't support ... was gonna say hate but think thats too far an emotion).

Thanks again - now gotta get this work done so I can go home and make like a spud and throw my painfully sorry carcass on the couch :p