Hi, 43 years sober here, also ex 2 pack a day smoker. Everyone is different but I can tell you, there are no half measures, either you're all in or not at all. For me it was terrifying, I didn't think it was possible. I decided it had to be cold turkey and that was that. It wasn't easy but easier than I expected. If you break it down into hours, those hours become days and so on. Every 24 hrs there is a noticeable difference especially with the booze. Up until then my life was one long hang over. I felt terrible the first couple days but life went on and I figured if I could go to work hung over everyday I could do this. After that waking up sober was a whole new experience, I wasn't booze sick and actually felt good. I focused on nutrition and exercise, both help. Cigarettes are different in that they fit into your life a different way. Smoking is ingrained into your daily routine and associated with everything you do. When you quit there are a million times a day you miss smoking, the morning cigarette, a few on the way to work, smoke breaks at work, ( back in the day you could smoke at work ) after lunch and so on. I could smoke a pack a night if I was at a bar. The good thing about smoking is that from day one you'll only have moments out of hours when you're Jonesing but it only lasts a few minutes and then you are100% OK. It took me about a week to get over the nicotine loss but that's not the real problem. Filling the gap of what to do with all the times you would be smoking and things associated with it. I think that's where everyone is different and you find your own way to cope. It only took about two weeks to really not miss smoking but longer to change my routine. Here's the upside of both. I'm pushing 70 and have no health problems, not on any medication, walk 2 miles everyday and can run up a flight of stairs without getting winded. There's a lot of hereditary illnesses in my family like heart problems and diabetes, I don't have any. My MD can't believe I was a smoker, my lungs are pink, clear and there's no scarring. I sleep like a baby and still have good wood although my desire is diminished. Anyway, do it you'll never regret it I highly recommend AA even if you're convinced you're not an alcoholic. AA is the help and support you need, good people and nobody judges you, and it's all unconditional. I still do meetings for the social aspects and to help others.