Been off cigarettes for a few years now, and never want to start up again, specially with the super high prices we pay in Australia now, a pack of 20's are almost $15 AUD.
I quit by using patches for 3-4 days to get over the worst of the withdrawals, then went turkey, it's rough, but you just have to suck it up, try to exercise a lot, tell all your friends your quiting so they will hassle you if you fall off the wagon, think of the money your saving and try to stay positive, the first week is brutal.
Weight lose is super simple, I am down 25kg since Jan 2010 following the primal blueprint guidelines: http://www.marksdailyapple.com
No gimmicks, no hours of pounding the pavement, no stupid exercise machines, no processed crap food, just eat the right healthy and natural foods and your body will naturally drop down to the right body fat percentage. Plus I can eat heaps of bacon and steak and not feel guilty about it anymore.