image With so many new people starting here, I want to suggest that they spend a little time going through the strings linked on the first post here to reinforce what is most likely among the most important reasons that they quit smoking. As a smoker you may have avoided seeing such things or acknowledging such dangers as a protective mechanism--protecting your smoking that is, not yourself.
As an ex-smoker though, the more you understand the better your ammunition and your resolve will stay to keep this quit going. The things smoking do to you are terrifying if understood--and these are not isolated or minimal risks, they are real and more common than most people realize.
The ways to avoid the risk of a smoking induced disease or a smoking induced premature death is not by avoiding thinking about a cigarette--it is by remembering smoking in its entirety and thus having the commitment and resolution to not take a cigarette. Understanding the dangers of smoking and the benefits of quitting will reinforce your desire to never take another puff!
Joel