Hello Amey:
I have to tell you there is one dangerous thought here--the idea that as long as you don't buy cigarettes you are safe. Buying is not the biggest issue, it is smoking one, and more accurately, taking a puff off one that will undo a quit, no matter how you obtained it.
I can't tell you how many times in the past when I am following up a clinic I hear the person at the other end of the phone say that they are doing okay, they are not buying cigarettes. As soon as I hear these words I know I have a relapsed smoker on the other end who likely is in a chronic withdrawal state because they are having a very difficult time sustaining nicotine levels at any kind of a comfortable amount by bumming one after another from every smoker they know.
Or they may be the truly creative person who buys carton after carton of cigarettes for one friend, only to "borrow" back a pack or two a day to keep their own nicotine withdrawal at bay. You see, these people are not buying cigarettes for themselves, just for their friend. The friend loves it, they get lots of free cigarettes. The smoker loves it, because he or she can delude himself or herself that he or she is now in control since he or she does not buy cigarettes anymore. What a waste. That smoker is wasting a lot of money and is aiding in the destruction of his or her friend. Maybe one day when the friend is paying the full face value, he or she would realize it is just to expensive and that may instigate that persons initial quit.
Whatever starts the quit is great, but the issue that will sustain the quit will likely be more mutifaceted that just the cost. It will be the realization of all the benefits gained by not smoking. The Freedom, the cost savings, the social benefits, the eradication of the stench, the increases in energy, the reduction of stress, the end of the chronic withdrawals and nicotine feeding frenzies, the increase in overall wellness and then the ultimate payoff, the longer and healthier life, that when considered in its whole will make a person realize that their long-term goal will always be to never take another puff!
Joel