vaping: had to laugh the other day, was driving along and saw this bus shelter on fire - at least I thought it was - got a bit closer and saw a bloke standing inside...vaping
smoking: it's been about 17 odd years for me now. Nicotine gum [only available on prescription then]helped me a lot - it was life a raft when drinking. I went through all kinds of attempts before I finally packed up. The whole thing started to feel a bit more serious when I stopped playing football at 40 and after about 19 months started feel slightly breathless walking up hills. Havng been blessed with pretty good physical health, I thought, 'fuck this, if I'm like this now, what am I going to be like at 60?'. It was then I started cycling, which helped an awful lot as a motivator. One mile, then two....then some more! [addiction replacements!]
I think in the end, I just got so sick and tired of the unsuccessful attempts, the whole subject was becoming such a bore internally. Either I smoke and be done with it, or go the other side of the fence and get rid for good. It got so draining being on the fence. One thing became blatantly obvious though: after these attempts to stop, I could never be a contented smoker anymore.
Another thing that really helped me was a change in attitude. I'd always seen quitting as a kind battle, something to over come, a kind of war against the inner surges of craving and the temptations of being out drinking. It was always a battle, but after a while this kind of mentality was doomed to failure for me. The reality was, regardless of all the negatives [and they should be enough], I actually loved the whole thing about it - the roll ups, the tin, the zippo lighter, the Spanish dark mud they called Ducados, a fag with a cup of tea, fags at work, fags down the pub, fags when you're driving, but at the end of the day....the party was over. It was like saying goodbye. And it was time to say goodbye. Something had run it's course. And this felt much softer. Much easier to bear. There was almost a kind of loss. It didn't take away the craving or the obsessions about talking about stopping, it just didn't seem such a mentally stressful experience. It's like the further you try and push something away, the closer it gets. This helped me a lot actually.
It's difficult. Whatever gets you through the night to pack up is very valuable, but at the end of the day, there has to be something inside of you that knows it's for real, and regardless of who bad you may or may not feel, there is no going back.
To whoever is looking to step on the path: good luck.