That is a really long period of time. Did you try vaping? You can regulate the amount of nicotine in it.
My cousin said vaping is more dangerous than smoking because you need to refill it with liquid, which we don't know if that is safe. Although the smells of vaping are quite different than smoking, I still don't recommend vaping.
Maybe if someone wants to quit smoking, he needs to have a strong will to stop, and he must have control over himself to say not to smoke.