I quit smoking for about a year and a half. Some crap happened, so I bought a pack and smoked two. I threw 18 away.
That wasn’t so bad… If I only have one at lunch, no one will ever know. Ok, one more when I drive to work and one at lunch. No biggie. Ok, one on the drive to work, one at lunch and one during my afternoon break. And so on and so on… Until today.
I realized I smoked a whole pack of cigarettes today. There are a ton of excuses. The fact is I need to quit again.
I’m backsliding, too! I quit over three years ago, but I’ve been taking a puff off of my housemate’s smokes recently; and I smoke the last two puff off of butts he’s already snuffed out.
Good luck. I’ve quit for longer and started again. Then quit again, pretty sure this one’s gonna stick. The sooner you let them go again the better off you’ll be.
Best wishes.
Our neighbor lady waited until she could feel the tumors in her lungs before she quit.
Then she started horking up blood shortly after that.
Her smart aleck nephew stuck a nicotine patch on the outside of one of her IV bottles, She was FU enough from the meds she thought it was working . . .
I had quit for five years. I was cleaning recently, and found a half pack tucked away in a desk drawer. Got tempted, lit one up. I think I’m cured for life.
I quit over 6 1/2 years ago. I’ve been tempted once in a while, but I know that even 1 would be doom. It was too hard to quit the 1st time, so I wont trick myself with the “I can do just 1” thing.
Hope you manage to quit again.
Best of luck to the OP! Both of my parents died of smoking-related illnesses; I took the ‘easy way’ out, by not starting, but I understand that quitting is a bitch.
Seriously, good luck! 
I gave up three times in all, before I gave up for good. Crappy days at work and in my personal life were the cause of me taking up the habit again x 2. I don’t know the stats but I don’t think too many smokers are able to give up the habit the very first time.
Good luck with your second, and hopefully last, attempt.
Ugh, that sucks for you. I’ve tried to quit a few times now and it always comes back to me like that. “Just one” turns in to “I am a smoker.”
I started Chantix on Jan 31 and haven’t smoked since Feb 7. This is my final time this time. It’s been the only time that I’ve quit and not had “just one”. It’s that “just one” that always gets me! It feels right this time tho, for real.
You can do it. You sound like you WANT to do it, which is half the battle. Good luck!
This is my second day smoke free. It’s not the first time I’ve stopped (my son says I can’t claim I quit if I started again) but I’m doing my best. This thread is a great reinforcement.
I’m keenly aware that ex-smokers are only a “puff away from a pack a day”. That is indeed how it creeps back . . .
Good luck to everyone trying to quit. It’s one of my goals for the year.
It’s funny that I can go through social situations without lighting up or even really wanting to. Recently I went through a 48 hour period without one, and a month later a 72 hour period. Never missed them. But the moment I was in a place and time where I could buy a pack, I did so with greed.
I’ve quit several times – the longest lasted ten years.
What kills me (no pun intended) is thinking how healthy I’d be if I’d never smoked. I’m almost 66 and am in reasonably good shape, but every health problem I’ve ever had has been smoking-related. I’m underweight because I smoke rather than eat, and my lung capacity is about as bad as it can be; I get short of breath doing easy stuff.
If I’d never smoked, I wouldn’t be so worried about my osteoporosis, I’d be at a healthy weight (people comment about my thinness), and I could work in the yard without stopping to rest every two minutes. Not to mention the extra $100 a month spent on cigs.
So there’s an incentive for others. Don’t start.
A big contributor to my success in quitting was the guilt of relapsing, buying a pack, smoking one and throwing the rest away once I had gotten my fix. In the end, being a cheapskate will have saved my life.
I quit twelve years ago…for six years.
Then, a really crappy month both personally and professionally and I picked them back up. Fortunately, this time, I don’t smoke as heavily (down to 2.5 packs a week now) and I can go for a couple of days without lighting up if need be. But, I do light up again. 
I’ve heard it said that what matters is not the mistake but what you do after.
I do not smoke myself but encourage you in quitting. It’s a bad habit and I’ve seen it hurt a lot of people I know.
But, I have to say, the thread title and your user name make a good combination
I haven’t smoked since New Year’s Day (day before my birthday). I know that if I ‘slip’ and have one at all, I will be prone to having more for at least the rest of the year.
Oddly, the difference between zero and one cigarettes seems massive. But the difference between one and say, ten, would seem minor to the point of irrelevance.
Yeah, same with me, but I quit about four years ago… for three years.
My best to those who are trying to quit.