I was a very heavy smoker (60 to 75 a day!) and I was not very nice to be around on a flight. I would literally get as many smokes into me before the flight and board at the last possible minute and "hope" I had enough nicotine in my system to last the flight. Once we landed it, was "get out of my way so I can have a smoke".

On most 3 to 5 hour flights, it was bearable, however when I was faced with a trip that included flying from Chicago to Honolulu that was another matter!

My wife suggested I try to wear a nicoderm patch for the flight. Faced with no other option I did try it and I have to say that experience changed my life.

When I arrived in Hawaii I was calm and actually took my time gathering up the luggage and doing a little looking around the concourse. After milling about for some time I made my way outside the terminal and eventually removed the patch and had a smoke. Definately not my usual arrival procedure:-)

I'd like to say that I quit smoking right then, but actually it was 3 years later when I was truly ready to quit, and I did it with the patch program. Had I not tried the patch on that flight, I might never had the confidence that I could actually quit. It's been 7 years now since I quit and now that I am a grandparent, I know it was a good move!