flynn23 wrote:

hmmm... let me be a spoiler here. I smoked, heavily, for 10+ years and quit without any real withdraw symptoms. Sure, I had physical habits to break (something to do with my hands and mouth), but I didn't have chemical dependency breakdowns. Over about a three month period, I went from smoking two packs of Lucky unfiltereds or Sampearna Cloves to nothing. I almost quit cold turkey, but I think I cheated about half a dozen times in the three months. Since, about once or twice a year, I've just got to have a cigarette, but I think this is triggered more by being around other smokers and that certain aroma of cheap perfume, a nice breeze, and a fine drag with a swig of beer.

Having worked for a company that sold a smoking cessation product, I can tell you that it's 99% mental. Yes, nicotine is addictive, but that's not why most people smoke. Ask em.

Maybe the "mental" part is where the brain-damage comes in...

For me, it didn't have anything to do with being around smokers. I can spend a few hours in a room with rattle (who can sometimes fill up an ash tray in under an hour) without getting the urge. This might have something to do with the fact that I lived with smokers while I was quitting, but I haven't had a cigarette in 4 years.

My method of quitting was using the patch, and not following the directions for it. I would increase the amount on hours I wore the same patch gradually over two weeks until I was up to 3 days (which is when Nicotine is supposedly mostly out of your system). Without the chemical edge, the habitual part was fairly easy.

RE: Spot in brain may control smoking urge - Yahoo! News