Quitting smoking? Actually pretty easy.

I was, as they say in Palmerston North, totally maggot.

One week to go - only one week until I can go back to smoking 20 cigarettes a day.

Today, I look like a cartoonish stoner in a suit.

Secondhand smoke. You either love it or hate it. Sometimes it's both.

Maybe it was complacency, or naive bravado, or simple, glorious stupidity. I thought I had this beat.

Somehow I went 12 hours without putting on a patch. And I didn't even notice.

I could just have one cigarette. Just one cigarette couldn't hurt, right?

Here's my thoughts on quitting when you're feeling terrible - it sucks, writes Matthew Backhouse.

Shelley Bridgeman shares what eventually led her to quit smoking. Nicotine patches, e-cigarettes and going cold-turkey had nothing to do with it.

The act of lighting up - once the signifier of youthful rebellion and effortless chic - has became seriously uncool.

It finally happened. I didn't just snap. I totally lost it.

I know quitting has its ups and downs. Tomorrow might be harder. But today, despite my body's protests, I felt at ease.

It's easier not to smoke when you're asleep. I'll try not to wake up this month.

There I was, tossing up whether to lick the cigarette butts in the ashtray, hoping for even a glimmer of that nicotine buzz.

Journalist Matthew Backhouse chronicles his efforts to quit smoking for Stoptober in a daily diary.

Smokers who live for a long time may have specific genes promoting a lengthy lifespan, a US study has found.

While many users perceive e-cigs as safer than traditional cigarettes, some of the flavorings that make them so enticing may have their own toxic consequences.

Thousands of Kiwis will be kicking smoking to the curb for Stoptober this year.

Yearly increases of 20 per cent in tobacco excise tax will be needed to achieve the Government's target of ultra-low smoking prevalence by 2025.

Young occasional smokers are almost four times more likely to become daily smokers by their late 30s than their non-smoking peers.

A study released this week suggests women who smoke during pregnancy are more likely to rear children who are involved in delinquency.

But expert warns that the benefits won't be seen for several decades.