I used to reward myself with a cigarette at the end of each paragraph. Killing oneself swiftly, of course, but it did help me ever so much. I’ve written a lot less now that I’ve given up - Ben Macintyre
I gave up smoking 30 years ago, but still miss it. The truth is that I still haven’t found anything better than a cigarette for a contemplative break. A cold KitKat with a hot cup of tea is OK but you can’t do that 10 times a day - Anthony Horowitz
Ive just given up smoking, which is a real pain because, whatever people say, it sharpens the brain. I’m trying desperately not to stuff my face with chocolate as a replacement, which also seems to work very well - Daisy Waugh
I quit smoking a few years ago. Cigarettes were such a punctuation to the writing process I was worried their absence might be a bit of a nightmare … I moved from 30 fags a day to a 40-pack of Smints … Ive just kicked a serious Diet Coke habit as well - Val Mcdermid
The above quotes all come from an article about guilty snacks
It would be interesting to know how they all gave up. I doubt they needed mutiple admissions to the Priory to rid themselves of this terrible addiction, or even help from an NHS smoking adviser. I expect most gave up in the same way that the vast majority do, because they just decided they would, on balance, prefer to be a non-smoker. Often because of pressure from friends & family
I did give up smoking for 3 years, just like that. There were even 2 packs of cigarettes in the cupboard, put there in case it ever became just too much in the small hours. On the whole I enjoyed being a non-smoker - socially easier & a lot less cleaning the house. But I went back to it for the kind of reasons mentioned by thesewriters. In my case I simply preferred the sharpening effect of smoking.
And, I have to say, the thought of a serious Diet Coke habit sounds even more terrifying
