I'm going on 11yrs. tobacco free. I smoked for over 25 yrs. and stopped cold-turkey. I had a head cold and the cigarettes tasted horrible. After 2 weeks I realized I could quit. My taste buds changed, my sense of smell increased, and a flight of stairs doesn't hit me like 3 glasses of Scotch anymore . Unfortunately , my wife still smokes.... I wish she would quit.
Good luck. Chewing gum helped too