Why is quitting from smoking so tough?

Why is it hard to quit smoking, are cigarette sort of drugs? And can anyone tell me why smoking is considered cool

Nicotine is physically addictive and also creates a psychological dependency, so it's a double whammy. Add to that the fact that most people pair smoking with pleasurable times (having drinks, coffee, after eating, after sex, etc.) and use it as a stress-reliever. That makes the dependency particularly strong.

Teens do think it's cool; they may also smoke because it upsets their parents so much. (That's our main job between 12 and 20, bugging our parents.) At that age most everyone feels immortal and thinks bad things like sickness and death can't happen to them.

My advice to quitters: get rid of the ciggies, ashtrays, lighters, all other paraphenalia. Have a partner or buddy, your partner or spouse if they smoke. Set a date, stop smoking. And use whatever aid helps you. The patches work great, but remember the aids help mostly with the physical addiction. Find something to do when you crave a smoke. Exercising works particularly well - it gives you endorphins to make you feel good (instead of nicotine) and helps combat that bit of weight most people want to gain when quitting. "Air smoking" without a cigarette can be particularly helpful for strong cravings.

It worked for me, and I haven't had a cigarette in 12 years.

hmm its really hard to quit coz it has been habit for you.so you cannot leave without it.You can leave without food but without ciggi you cannot imagine your day to start with so u keep on smoking.to avoid just dont thik about it.If it comes to your mind just ignore and just keep something in your mouth instead of ciggi like chewing gums,lollies or chocklates.I know its really hard to just quit it but just decrease your ciggi.like if you use to smoke 5 stick a day then just reduce to 4 and next day 4 or and then keep on decreasing and if u feel like smoking it just put something like chewing gum or lollies.
hahha cool you think its cool but its already hot in the lever with the smokemind that please.
thanks

'Easy way to give up smoking' by Allen Carr is an excellent book to read if you are struggling to give up cigarettes, he uses counter brainwashing (which is not actual brain washing) to help you over come the psychological addiction. As for it being cool, I am a smoker and I feel stupid when I smoke, so much so that I rarely smoke in public and as I only smoke about 4-5 a day I can really smell it on myself. Judilyn has hit the nail on the head with having a buddy to do it with - my partner is finding it extremely difficult to give up which affects me aswell. I've taken to hiding the tobacco when I go to work just to stop him from having that first disgusting morning cigarette.

If you have good friends, tell them you need to quit smoking and if they see you light up to tell you not to. Its actually easier to cut back at first. However, I did a cold turkey. Due to kids, I refused to smoke inside my home. I am asthmatic, and the only spot I smoked was at the bus station. I ironically had the same driver to and from work, so I told him out of the blue about my asthma since I was one of the last stops on route we would get talking. He asked great questions I told him what to do. In fact, I even smoked with that driver LOL. 2 weeks after telling him about my asthma, I was at the bus station full blown asthma attack, I saw him smoking, so I went over to him and held up my inhaler. He said "Asthma?" I shook my head yes, dont remember anything else except for him holding me and his cig on the ground. I had the "What on earth you holding me look" and he was stuttering (which was funny as every driver kept trying to scare him, but he's just one of those types you cant pull crap on and all I do was pass out in his arms LOL) . Needless to say, he got me breathing again, then even luckier....he had just finished his shift so he put me in his car and drove me to the hospital and told them I had a really bad attack and passed out into his arms. After that, whenever I lit a cig around him he would pull it out of my mouth, toss it on the ground and stomp on it. Said I "Had to quit" while he was smoking his cig! After a week of him doing that, another driver stood up for me and said if she wants to smoke let her. He said "She should not smoke, she has asthma". Next thing I knew all the drivers would take them out of my mouth. There is one driver, who is a supervisor now, I was real close to, and he would sometimes put a bus pass in my work bag. Lo behold, one day he took my pack of smokes out of my work bag and put a buss pass in where the smokes were. I figured when they started taking my packs, it was time for me to quit LOL