ONCE I decided to quit smoking, I visited my GP surgery and saw a specialist nurse.
We talked through my smoking addiction and I agreed to keep a diary of my life, as a smoker, for three days running up to my quit date.
I also made a list of the reasons why I want to give up smoking and what I thought the benefits would be.
I thought about the things I was going to do to help keep me busy, sustain my willpower and further aid my health.
One of my goals is to eat plenty of fruit and veg - so I've got a house full of onions, broccoli, carrots, swede, mushrooms and cabbage. I have also bought lots of cleaning products. I figure cleaning will keep me busy!
Today, the day before my quit date, I returned to the surgery and had a longer consultation.
After discussing the level of my addiction, and all of the above, it was agreed that I would use the strongest strength nicotine replacement patches to start, with an inhalator to keep my hands busy and to take the 'edge' off any sudden cravings.
The nurse and I discussed my plan for stopping smoking.
I had already given it a great deal of thought and revealed I was planning to quit tonight, the day before my official SmokeStop date.
The reason why I have decided to do this is that I'm frightened I'll go to bed with good intentions and then not put the patch on as soon as I wake up - and end up smoking.
I've had visions of not even getting past the start line. If this happened, I'd feel as though I'd badly let myself down.
As soon as I left the surgery, I picked up my nicotine replacement prescription and bought myself a triple-tier food steamer - on offer for £7.99 at Lloyds Pharmacy.
It is now 6pm and I'm planning to quit smoking in about two hours' time.
I feel daunted but determined.