Thanks for the encouragement. I've tried Chantix. Twice. Both times, I did end up quitting. To get into the head of someone addicted to something is hard to do. For me to explain is hard as well. I've quit several times over the years. The hard part is the first week. If you can get past the first week with the withdrawal symptoms, then it comes down to habit. I understand this. I've done it. I've been there. So, weeks go by and then I go out with customers (I work in sales). We have a few drinks, and then judgement gets impaired and I say, well, I can have 1. Then 1 leads to another. Then another. Then it's all downhill. In your head, your brain tells makes excuses so that you can "cheat". I know rationally that it doesn't work but when you're craving a smoke, you do some stupid things and you allow yourself to justify anything to make it happen. You start to sweat. You start to get jitters, you start to think, come on, 1 wont' hurt. I'll just have this one to get me over the hump. That's the problem. That 1 leads you down the path of smoking more. Hopefully that helps you to understand the struggle. I've been smoking so long that I identify with smoking. It's what I do. I smoke after a meal. I smoke in the AM. Heck, I smoke before I get on the bike, mid ride if we stop for coffee, and after.

The terrible thing is that I'm in pretty decent shape. I'm 5'5", 135 lbs. I lift weights 2 - 3 times a week. If I'm lucky enough to be home and not on the road, I ride the other days. I've got an athletic build with a 10" drop (38" chest 28" waist)....yet I smoke. Yeah, I know it's bad. Yeah, I know it'll kill me. But hopefully, this explanation gives you a little understanding of what it's like for a smoker or addict of any kind. It's easy for someone that isn't addicted to say, just quit. Yeah, we get it. At the end of the day, it all comes down to excuses and ME. So words of encouragement are great but at the end of the day, it's my demon that I have to slay.