Hey JB! I'm just a little ahead of you in time at a year and a half or so and I still have thoughts, bordering on weak cravings for a smoke here and there. They are fleeting thoughts but they are strong enough still that when they do come, it's surprising and if I was in a weak moment and like you noted, if I actually had a cigarette handy, I might light up just on a whim. That's why we always have to be on our guard and aware that it CAN happen if we were to get careless. We see people coming back here after a year or more quit for this very reason. They dropped their guard just one time and fell for that sinister thought .... Surely I can have just one!
Now just to put this in perspective for those behind us in their quits, these craves or thoughts of smoking are not in the same category as those we experience during our first months or even year of our quit. These thoughts of smoking or suggestions from deep in our mind that we should be lighting up are pretty weak and last only seconds and, they are not coming frequently which is what makes them dangerous. We aren't expecting them and most days we have no thoughts or urges to smoke. They come out of nowhere. I can't even identify a trigger when they come upon me. I will be just going about a normal everyday routine and one just comes into my head from nowhere. It's weird. But I do figure that these too will continue to get more and more infrequent as time goes by. Just like the rest of our quit though, progress is so gradual we don't notice it happening - it just does. That's it folks; time! It all just takes time so our job, once our quits are well established, is just to remain on guard and to be sure we aren't one of those coming back here after a year or so with our tails between our legs and starting this whole process over again.
