Arkabee: I never said to lie to yourself about hating smoking..what I meant was that it is perverse to jerk yourself off mentally to images of how great smoking is while depriving yourself of something readily available and legal. It seems counterintuitive when there is so many proven negative images to focus on that would be less likely to make you run out and smoke.
It's really evidentiary of the depth and power of the addiction so if you did manage to quit, again, congratulations. I found it quite easy to quit during a deathbed vigil and believe me it was nothing that gave me imagery that could have led to a smoke. In fact, the few times I did try to light up, all I could hear was Elinor's dad grinding his teeth in a coma. Very loud, horrible sound. I can still hear it if I think about it. I doubt I could have quit while meditating on the joy of smoking and I think most addiction counselors would agree that that method would serve to make it harder....but, if it worked, that is what is important.