Quit Smoking and Handle the Urges around Friends

Handling the Surprise Challenges of Quitting Smoking
"I've recently been trying to give up smoking and I've found that normally if I'm at home away from the TV, I really don't have urges to smoke.  But if I see someone on TV smoking, or if I'm at work, the urges come back.  How can I avoid smoking without completely removing myself from friends that also smoke?"

Overcoming Conditioning
You're describing the conditioning of positive, pleasurable social interactions with smoking.  It will take time for these effects to be extinguished or wear off.  You might need to avoid those TV and your smoking friends, especially while they are smoking, for a few weeks, until your temptations are not so strong.  Instead of stepping outside to the smoking area at work to talk while they light up, chat in the break room with a cup of coffee or tea.  If you must be around smokers, have something in your hands to play with or a low-calorie treat to eat slowly.

Here are three interesting links to follow for more information.  Web MD has ten practical tips with some helpful details.  Stop Smoking Tips takes a slightly different approach, and the article in Time Magazine points out, in essence, that when you quit, you might be encouraging your friends to quit.