I have been semi secretive about my quit too, and I'll explain why in a minute, first I want to tell you that when I quit, I didn't tell my husband. (He does not smoke,He quit 32 years ago).
After five (yes that is 5) days, I couldn't stand it anyway and I told him, "Hey I quit 5 days ago". I wasn't upset with him, I have quit many times before and he was not one to gripe too much about the smell. He started to laugh, at himself, He couldn't believe it himself, He said if it had been one or 2 days, okay, but 5,now thats bad. I laughed with him. But he was / is happy for me.
There are other people that I just won't tell, maybe not for a couple of years.
I find there are three groups of people out there, the non smokers who have never smoked, the smokers group who either smokes, have quit, or would like to quit. The wannabe quitters who will are trying very soon to quit, and the quitters.
The ones who have never smoked, like you said, have 401 reasons why you should quit and "Why haven't you given up that filthy habit yet?"
Or "You're killing yourself" and its "It's not that hard, my friend just quit, overnight" and on they go. So you don't even want to give them the satisfaction,of knowing that you quit, because they'll just say "I told you so", or some such superior comment. Or they say "I never thought you could do it" Because they have heard its very hard, but basically don't have a clue. Or if you failed at a quit, they're on you like a wet shirt, "I knew you wouldn't quit."
Then there's the smokers, they all just kind of nod, "Good for you" or "I didn't think you would make it" Because smokers know its very hard to quit, most smokers have tried at least once. They probably even wish maybe it was them trying again. I sometimes did.
The ex smokers, kind of do the "I know what its like, but I don't wanna go there" right now nod. So its almost like no one wants to talk about it.
So I keep it to myself pretty much. My kids know, my parents have both long since passed away, but, they would be proud.
I keep it to myself, because when I didn't make it, it was so humiliating sometimes, to deal with some of hoity toity non smokers, and it also felt self defeating going back to the smokers group. Admitting I had failed once again.
So I became a grou
