You remind me of a guy I used to work with. He'd been off them for well over ten years by the time I met him. He used to sit in the smokers' tea room every break, inaling deeply. He would never accept a cigarette when offered. I once asked him if he still felt the cravings and he just snarled, "Yes, all the time!"
My triggers were always bars, coffee, tea, and alcoholic drinks. The other things I used to enjoy with cigarettes were always my triggers and after a few drinks, especially surrounded by the smell of cigarettes, the taste of beer, and the sound and environment of a bar, I'd lose the willpower to resist and end up smoking again, even after years of going without cigarettes.
One of the problems with nicotine substitutes like patches and gum is that the imprint isn't just a desire for nicotine, I desire the other habits associated with smoking, such as holding a cigarette shaped device in my hand, the flavor of tobacco, and the rhythm of inhaling and exhaling a substance that is smoke-like. eCigs fulfill those needs so successfully that I haven't craved a cigarette since I began.
I know that nicotine imprinted those triggers on me, but the desire never went away and will probably never disappear. Now that I vape nicotine containing flavors in ecigs, I believe that imprint has been altered and now I no longer crave tobacco flavors hardly at all, unless I am drinking coffee or beer or scotch, but other ecig flavors now.
Nhaler sells liquids with vitamin C, reishi extracts, and other substances that have been suggested by various medical studies to prevent lung tumors. The idea is that by vaping these substances directly into one's lungs, one may undo or prevent oneself from dying from the harmful effects of years of smoking. Their pear, pomegranate, watermelon, and green tea flavors are delicious, too.
Tasty Vapor sells nicotine liquid for ecigs that taste amazing. Their version of Atomic Fireball, German Chocolate Cake, Cloves (custom blend with honey for sweetness), and Butterfingers also satisfy one's cravings for sweets. I don't crave chocolate when I vape a chocolate flavor, likewise with the other flavorings, so it may help keep one's weight down, stay away from sweets, and thereby also extend one's life by keeping a healthier diet via vaping. This phenomenon has been noted by other vapers also.
I began smoking when I was 15 years old, and I would be still struggling with that addiction if it were not for ecigs. There are so many amazing success stories on the ecigarette forum from people with three pack a day habits who have succeeded in finally quitting for years after decades of addiction. It drives home the point that while many people do succeed in beating an addiction to tobacco, going cold turkey isn't feasible for many people who would have smoked themselves to death.
I'm convinced that legal actions to prevent the sale of this life-saving technology will be detrimental to the health of those like me who have had difficulty staying off of tobacco entirely.
I don't want to discourage anyone from going cold-turkey. I commend anyone for whom that method works! I wish it worked for me. For those for whom cold-turkey does not work, there is another option, at least at the moment.