Setting a date to quit and going cold turkey worked for me 10.5 years ago. I tried the weaning and social smoking thing and always went back to my old habits. I had to come to the realization that I could never have nicotine ever again in my life if I wanted to quit. That's a very difficult reality to accept for long time smokers (I smoked 2 packs a day from 18 - 30).
It's going to suck in the beginning, but when you stop hacking up black shit every morning and add 20+ years to your life expectancy, it will all be worth it. Good luck man.