It's been 16 1/2 years since my last cigarette. I've been told that nicotine affects the pleasure center in the brain alongside the heroin and cocaine locations. I don't doubt that at all, tough addictions!

I used the patch and while my body wasn't going through physical withdrawals I had the opportunity to deal with the psychological components of my addiction. I didn't realize until much later how important that time period was. Acknowledging and accepting my addiction was very important for my battle plan of success. Yes, it's like war!

I identified as many of those triggers as I could and that proved to be very helpful. Make a list! Once I started to taper down ever so slowly on the patches One of my methods was to do something I didn't do smoking to help me through the cravings. Like you, I liked my after dinner cigarette - I brushed my teeth instead. I brushed my teeth a lot! I also took a lot of showers. Deep breaths were magical, going places where smoking wasn't allowed , especially movies. There are other ideas that you can come up with.

I hope you succeed. You can do it!