I’ve quit a few times. Once using only the Jesus Prayer (back in the late 1990s). Lasted about 9 months before I have sufficient crisis excuses to return.
The longest success I had was switching to “vape”. I challenged myself between the age of 42-43 to spend a WHOLE YEAR using only a vape. It’s the electronic battery with the nicotine liquid.
VERY CHEAP. Super cheap. Unbelievably affordable. And it’s like switching to Splenda or Sweet ‘n Low from Sugar. Not very hard at all. Three nights of coughing some strange things for a few minutes, then suddenly, food tasted amazing. Threw the ashtrays in the garbage as well as all the lighters. I was committed.
Succeeded. From one birthday to the next. I even got myself down to 0 nicotine for a few months.
Went back to cigarettes soon after my 43rd birthday. Still 43 years old now. Sometimes I’d supplement smoking with the vapor even now, although I’ve used the excuse of money stresses to go full time to smoking for the last three months and the vapor sits getting dusty… waiting for my return.