Thank you, JohnnyNoNic, for your words of encouragement. I must say that I could definitely relate to "Desperate Addicts Parade" because … I am an addict. It helped me recognize that while it may be difficult for me to accept that fact, what's more important is that I never forget it.

Well I am coming into day 12 of my Final Quit and it is getting better and better each day. Yesterday I had only three major crave episodes, the first two of which blew over in a matter of minutes. The third one really hung on to me and it came after I spent a few minutes speaking with a neighbor outside who was smoking. I had been around cigarette smoke before and it did not affect me but last night I went into an obsessive/compulsive crave attack that I could only deal with by going to bed early. It was that or eat everything in the kitchen pantry. This morning is the third day I have not woken up craving a cigarette and I am grateful for that!! It seems to make the day a whole lot more manageable.

I did a lot of reading in Freedom yesterday morning and I was really angry when I read how cigarette manufacturers add chemicals that work as bronchial dilators. Several quits were ruined when I couldn't handle the overwhelming sense that I could not catch my breath. I ran back to cigarettes and instantly found the relief I needed. Doctors have told me it was all in my head but yesterday I learned that it was not all in my head. For this Final Quit I made certain that I had an albuterol inhaler which I had to use regularly during the first 7 days. I am going to go back to my doctor and give her the information about what's been added to cigarettes so that she is not so ignorant with her next patient. I get mad when I think about how doctors get all over us to quit smoking but they have no real information or direction as to what is really going on nor how to do it. It is not unreasonable for a person to need a bronchial inhaler to make it through the first week and I resent that doctors don't get it about that.

I am going to tell my doctor and the clinic with which she is associated all about how WhyQuit.com and Freedom helped me to Finally Quit. I saw that WhyQuit.com haslinks to information for doctors to use and I hope that they will use the information there to benefit their other patients who want to quit smoking.

It seems that every day brings another epiphany. I am SO GRATEFUL to everyone at WhyQuit.com and Freedom for the knowledge that I am gaining about nicotine addiction and cigarette smoking. My life is changing for the better each and every day in so many ways because I have stopped feeding my nicotine addiction. I can't even picture myself putting a cigarette to my lips or allowing a piece of nicotine gum in my mouth. Yechh!!! They are both such disgusting concepts!!!

Cathy