Hesitant to reply because your comment seems borderline trolling to me. But as someone who quit smoking after a many years habbit Ive personally never done anything harder.
So do you think you would have been harmed if actions had been taken to prevent you from starting in the first place? Do you think you’re harming yourself or being cruel to yourself now by not smoking anymore?
Perhaps not but that point of view is a dramatic over simplification of the situation. I used nicotine as a cruch while dealing with mental health issues. Part of the time I was smoking I really did _need_ it. Taking it away from me then would have been cruel.
I quit tobacco and moved to vaping, and it still took me about six months to totally quit. Once I did, my body decided to punish me.
It started with crazy canker sores all over my tongue and a few pimples. The timelines I read were fairly accurate (e.g. tastebuds coming back, etc), but the biggest struggle was breaking the pattern.
Vaping just wasn't the same from the ritual side, but I'm glad I quit tobacco itself. Unlike many, I have no plans to quit nicotine. For me it takes the edge off -- and I think a lot of people with depression and anxiety are in the same boat.
People who haven't quit smoking will never understand what its like to quit smoking -- but the same goes for any addiction.