Giving up something you love doing with all your heart and soul can be akin to saying goodbye to the love of your life. In those times when everything seems ready to fall down on you, when stress seems to get the better of you, a stick of your favorite brand of cigarette can be a most reliable source of solace and comfort.

My nicotine addiction has been an on-and-off affair, one that started way back in college (or much earlier if we're to include those sneaky puff or two me and a cousin had in our elementary-school days). What started as a "social smoking" later turned into a much loved and readily missed activity, the absence of which would promptly trigger severe withdrawal symptoms.

Yes, it has become an addiction in all but its name.

I was able to free myself from its yoke first in 1998, or after some 15 years since starting to get hooked on cigarettes. Eight years of nicotine-free existence followed. In 2006, however, like a thief in the night my nicotine habit came back. I had a relapse.

Today, after more than four years of living with and for the next puff, I am once again beginning to will myself out of tobacco addiction.

For Smokers, iQuit

For smokers who own an iPad, iPhone, or iPod, and who wish to overcome or end their nicotine addiction, there are several iTunes apps to help level the field. First on the list is the iQuit Smoking (www.iQuitSmoke.com). The application encourages recovering smokers to keep themselves busy, and recognize and take control of the urge to light up and smoke.

Another iTunes application, the Quit Smoking — Cold Turkey, by apps developer Jude Novak, encourages smokers to give up smoking cold turkey. No ifs, no buts. Related literature says, "no need for gum, mints or superhuman willpower. Just go 'Cold Turkey!" Cold Turkey for iPhone is a mobile application that helps you snuff out cravings and kiss your butts goodbye."

Next in line is the Quit Smoking Now with Max Kirsten application developed by, yes, celebrity hypnotherapist Max Kirsten. Voted as one of the top 5 New Year's Resolution iPhone Apps for 2010, the Kirsten application is even endorsed by actor Ewan McGregor who claims he was able to stop smoking with the help of the iPhone program.

There are a host of other applications for the iPhone and other platforms designed to help recovering smokers kick their nicotine habit.

Adieu, Addiction

Saying goodbye to one's addiction is never an easy thing. If it was, drug traffickers and liquor companies would lose their shirts. Acknowledging one's addiction and resolving to do something about it, however, means one is more than halfway there.