Help! I quit smoking but I'm going out to dinner with a couple who both smoke. I'll be surrounded.

You will be surrounded by smokers only if you allow it. I have no problem telling smokers that I choose to not be around second hand smoke due to MY health issues. I don't tell them they can't smoke, only that I won't be around it. I hope that you ask to sit inside in a non-smoking section and allowed them to go outside when they want to smoke. If they insisted that this is unreasonable then I would consider it abuse.

Besides the best thing we can do for friends who smoke--is to help them quit. The first step is that they have to come to the realization that their smoking is a problem--if they can smoke around you without consequences, then their smoking is not a problem. But if you insist to your right to breath smoke-free air, then their smoking becomes a problem--they have to go outside--but is that really so much of an inconvenience compared to your right to not endanger your health and/or sobriety from smoking?

The more inconvenience it is for smokers to indulge in their addiction, the more problem it becomes and the more they will gravitate towards thinking about quitting. I have a client right now who is quitting (she is now 7 weeks quit). Her major reason to stop is because of the social stigma and inconvenience of trying to find a place to smoke. She has been smoking for over 50 years and it wasn't for her health, cost or anything else.

Often we don't want to "offend" our smoking friends because we remember how it was when we smoked. But would you get in a car with an alcoholic and let them drive knowing they have been drinking because you didn't want to "offend" them?

My motto is your right to smoke ends where my nose begins. Set your boundaries about sitting a non-smoking section, then don't mention their smoking or about quitting unless they broach the subject. 

Do the cravings (for nicotine) ever stop?

A. has been quit for 6 months yet she still gets cravings just as strong as the first day she quit. She asks,

"Will it ever get better or will it a battle forever?"

You need to stay vigilant and work on changing your self talk. When a craving comes up--if you keep saying--"this is just like day one" and questioning if it will ever get better--that thought process can lead you back. Instead reframe it to: "I've made it 6 months and most of the time, it is easier but since I'm still having craving, maybe there is something more to learn about my addiction to nicotine." Then see if you can trace back your thoughts to what trigger it in the beginning. After 6 months, it's probably not a "habit" cigarette but one that is attached to strong emotions, (positive or negative) and/or stress. 
This is an activity from my book  How To Win at Quitting Smoking:

Activity: Five steps to train your brain to think of smoking in a different way.

You need to recondition your brain to stop the automatic thoughts that nicotine has planted. It takes time. If you only change your behavior and not your thinking, you may relapse or turn to something else such as food.
Write these five steps down on a card and carry them with you. Whenever a craving comes up use these steps to change what you tell yourself when you think about smoking or have a craving. You can use these steps when you first quit and at any time in the future:
1. “I’m having a desire to smoke right now.” Having a desire to smoke is normal and the craving will go away whether or not you smoke. Just let it run its course.
2. “I can smoke at any time, I’m not deprived.” Nobody is taking your cigarettes away from you. It is your choice and you are working towards what you really want and it’s not the cigarette. Remember what smoking is depriving you of that is more important: money, health, freedom.
3. “I’m a puff away from a pack a day.” It’s easy to fall into the trap of having “just one”. Do not kid yourself.
4. “Right now I have a choice to make for myself. Either I give in to this temporary discomfort and go back to the constant misery of smoking, or I can accept this temporary discomfort and work through it for (. . . name one of your Benefits of Becoming Smoke-Free).”
5. “At this moment, I willingly accept this temporary discomfort because I want (. . . then list your Benefits of Becoming Smoke-Free).” Focus on what you truly want.


You always have a choice! When a craving comes up, you will always have two choices:
• You work through it and remain smoke-free, or
• You slip and smoke a cigarette. 
If you choose the latter, again you have two choices:
• You resolve to remain smoke-free and learn from the slip, or
• You blame yourself, beat yourself up, feel guilty and smoke another cigarette.
If you choose the latter, your next two choices are:
• You renew your resolve to become smoke-free and start anew, or
• You relapse and become a smoker again. Realize you need to work on your motivation, make changes in your Action Plan and/or set another Quit Date when you’re ready.
You can choose to see a slip as a failure or as a learning experience. You can choose to let the events of your life control you, or you can take control of your life. The choices you make are determined by who you think you are, and the benefits and expectations you bring to the situation.