[Doug]

Mark Twain: Quitting smoking is easy; I've done it hundreds of times.

Good luck, Sydney. You are doing the right thing. Besides the health benefits, think of the money you'll save. I think it's particularly heartening that virtually all of the damage that your lungs may have (probably have) incurred will be healed if you quit at a young enough age.

I smoked maybe twice as many cigarettes a day as you, and I quit cold turkey. I was pretty cranky for a week or so (breaking up with a long-time girlfriend at the same time didn't help), but after that it really wasn't a problem. I had a couple setbacks over the years during particularly stressful times, but I'm far enough removed from that that I know it won't happen again.

There are a million tricks to it that people have tried. The only thing I can add is instead of feeling like you are missing something, think of yourself as actively not smoking, that is, that you are affirmatively doing something and in fact accomplishing something positive and beneficial. I know that I got some gratification from that thought in the early days of not smoking.