I had heard a little bit about this nicotine patches when they first became widely available about 10 or 15 years ago. Though I never tried nicotine patches for myself back then, I knew several people who did. Some of them, like the friend I mentioned, were able to quit smoking for good. Others, however, weren't as successful and went back to smoking shortly after giving up on nicotine patches. I certainly didn't want to fail in my bid to quit, so I resolved to gather as much information about nicotine patches as possible before purchasing them. I wanted to know what I was getting into so I could better prepare myself for the tough road ahead.

I logged onto the Internet to find about other peoples experiences with nicotine patches in the hopes that I could learn a thing or two from their successes and failures. I also went to the homepages of companies that manufactured nicotine patches to see what kind of tips they had for people that wanted to quit smoking. The more I read, the more I realized that I wasn't going to be able to just slap nicotine patches on my arm for a month to wean myself off cigarettes. I would have to approach quitting with a comprehensive plan.

Once I used some web resources to come up with a personalized quitting plan, I was ready to purchase some nicotine patches. While I was looking for smoking cessation tips, I came across quite a few web sites that offered huge discounts on nicotine patches. I went back to one of those sites and was able to get an unbelievable deal on a month's supply. Once the nicotine patches arrived in the mail, I enjoyed one final smoke and prepared to embark on a whole new lifestyle.

I have been using nicotine patches for two weeks so far and haven't had a cigarette in all that time. My cravings have not disappeared entirely, but they are definitely more manageable now than in the past when I tried to quit cold turkey. I feel good about my efforts so far and really think that I'll be able to kick the habit for good this time.