I smoked as a teenager and quit soon before I turned 20. But every now and again, when I went through tough emotional times, I picked the habit up again. Never to any great degree since I was very conscious of not wanting to be a "smoker" again, but enough to keep the cravings there.

The thing that stopped me eventually was my friend, who was smoking to give him relief from the monotony of revising for exams at the time, telling me that each time he smoked he wondered why he did, since cigarettes always tasted so bad. That was the thing that stopped me from ever smoking another cigarette - having it pointed out by someone else that they taste revolting, which they do!

Great piece, Barbara. And congrats on the will power.