Artsoul: Thank you for the kind words! I truly believe that the electronic cigarettes were the saving grace with the cigarettes. The hard part with tobacco (especially pre-manufactured cigarettes) is battling the withdrawal of the "other chemicals" they add to the tobacco. I picked up a "Top-O-Matic" cigarette injector and purchased Harvest Gold (brand) Natural tobacco - which supposedly has no additives mixed in. I purchased these items because it brought my cost per pack down to about $1.75 per pack. Even with this change, I suffered a withdraw from the boxed cigarettes available over the counter! The electronic cigarette took about two days to adjust to, and I'm already regaining my sense of smell and taste--and my allergy to second hand smoke =)
My ultimate plan is to start with e-cig refills that have normal nicotine content, and taper down to nicotine free. At that point, the only addiction left is the habit!
Another thing that could be complicating my stool color (after much research) is the fact that I have Crohn's disease and was recently taking medication to manage a flare-up. Fortunately, within my research, "any shade of brown" (disgusting topic, I know!) is supposedly within the normal zone. I'll probably give myself a month and see if things return to normal and then consider medical help from that point forward.
I really look forward to navigating the forums! I was afraid that many of my friends would exile me from existence since a healthy portion of them were out with me eating and drinking every night =0) Fortunately - of the people that I've spoken to, they are all supportive of my change in habits and are willing to partake in sober activities that don't involve me sitting around at the bar. This is a really cool thing for me because when I stopped going to the bars I frequented in my twenties, everyone seem to disappear and stop calling - as if they didn't notice my leave lol.
Thanks again for the support and the kind words!