you need to go cold turkey.
nicotine replacement isn't doing your heart any good.
it really isn't that hard to do.
the first 3 days or so are the worst.
The point of me going this route is that every time I stop, my throat/trachea keeps irritating me (again, I think it's the menthols). I need the smoke itself to make that feel normal. If I quit all together, I'd have to put up with both the mental pain and the irritation in my throat. At least this way, I can deal with one at a time.
I'm taking in far less nicotine mints than I am ciggs, and these mints contain less nicotine than the ciggs do. While I know this will sound like something an addict would say, I am not as dependent on the nicotine as I thought I was. Of course, when I first started smoking I could tell anyone that I truly was an addict... but as I have said, lately I have just grown TIRED of smoking and being a slave... I think it's this mentality that is making me get off easier than I normally would have a year ago. Plus, I've read half of the book "Quit Smoking the Easy way." basically, it's a book that reverses all the brainwashing that one has about quiting. After reading half of the book, I felt really bad about myself and from there on out to this day... I feel bad (and even sick to my stomach) when I smoke.
of course, time will tell. My throat is starting to feel a lot better after just a day. I find now that I can breathe through both of my nostrils at the same time