Greetings GFY.
I've successfully quit smoking with no aids, no discussion groups, no books, no pdfs, no patches, no meds, no nothing. =)
I began smoking 10 years ago and I grew up with the habit, probably since I was around 15 years old. This means that smoking was a part of my my life to the point that it accompanied me through my development process. Smokes were there when my pubes starting popping out, had my first 'serious' girlfriend, did hardcore partying, while discovering sex, and who knows how many other things. It was just there for everything.
I was smoking a pack and a half or so per day and cigarettes went with me wherever I went. I wouldn't be caught dead without a pack of smokes. My cigarettes came in cartons, not packs. I liked smoking so much that I had never, not once, attempted to quit.
Having said all this, here's how I quit.
The other night I was working late and I went to have a smoke outside. I noticed that it was my last pack, the carton was empty and I only had 12 cigarettes left. I got worried because that wasn't going to be enough to get me through the night. I grabbed my car keys in preparation to go out and get another carton and just as I was putting on my cap I stopped dead in my tracks and said: "Fuck it. I'm quitting." I took off my cap, unloaded my wallet, lighter, smokes, and cell and went back to work.
As time passed by, I started rationing them and I managed to stretch those 11 remaining smokes until the evening of the next day. When I ran out, I grabbed that last cigarette, stared at it, lighted it up and smoked it. As it burned, I couldn't believe I was actually saying goodbye to the ol' buddy.
Surely enough, I just quit.
I've been smoke free for 2 days now and don't even feel cravings for cigarettes. Considering the amount of time and cigarettes per day I smoked, its hard to believe that I could just stop and forget about it.
My first and best advice to quit smoking is that if you fail to stop at your first attempt, it is probably going to be a lot more difficult to do so in the future. If you fall for that "I'll quit later" you're opening a door that is hard to close because you'll fall for the same trick over and over in the future. It's just like when you started smoking. I wasn't that determined to quit smoking and had little time to plan it, but I know one thing, I'm sticking with it at all costs!
Second of all, consider buying a shitload of straws to drink from glasses. Once the nicotine has faded, you'll need to break the habit. Sucking from a straw will confuse your brain and up until now it seems to be thinking that it is actually smoking =)
Sugarless gum is great if you get really anxious.
Another thing to remember is that you'll feel hungry. Every time you feel the need to head to the kitchen to get something to eat, remember that it is the lack of nicotine talking and don't pay attention to it. Stick to regular meals no matter what!
And yep, that's practically it. This is how I quit smoking. I'll be saving like USD 1000 a year because of this. I'm also saving my health. Don't wait until the doc comes by and tells you you're fucked up. Do it now!
My health is good and I've never been diagnosed with any tobacco-related diseases (or any at all, fortunately) and I don't want that to change just yet.