I saw this thread earlier and I had to think about it. I was a happy smoker and didn't feel guilty at all. I started smoking at a time when smoking was considered "chick" and it made me feel grown up over night. Oh I was so sophisticated , as so many around me, because we all smoked. I was a smoker and people around me knew it and accepted it. They didn't like it, but they knew that it was a part of me. Either you like me or you don't....and please don't tell me what to do :-)
I think I started to question my habit when they talked about fire safe cigarettes (I always thought that was an oxymoron in the first place). So there weren't enough chemicals in cigarettes already, now I inhaled another one that's a fire retardant? Oh I got upset about that. I didn't like it and noticed that I started to cough more. In the mornings, at night when I turned from one side to the other. That pretty much happened around the same time. The taste of cigarettes wasn't so enjoyable anymore; it might have all been in my mind, but they tasted different. I didn't like it anymore.
I started to say "I am going to quit smoking" and got the "yeah right look" from friends. I made the same statement months later again, but didn't have a plan. I just knew I would stop smoking. One day out of the blue without any warning I will put them out for good....and I did.