My wife, a 50+ year smoker as in smoking for all that time, jokes "Super Gluing my lips together" but then realizes she is smart enough to figure something else out like.... a nostril.
Total Disclosure, I have never smoked in my life, grew up in a smoking household which included extended family and.... been with this woman some almost 40 years now. Also saw my Dad go through 3 lung cancer treatments before it got to him. My Mom in her 40's with a heart attack
As a smoker you probably have noticed a lot of associated behaviors like, The car won't start without first lighting up a cigarette, A meal tastes Sooooooo much better when you light up right after eating; etc.. The list goes on. And certain foods, like meat will feed the craving as well as alcohol. Oh... and let's not forget the endless 2-3 smokers together and there is never more then a 20 Sec interval over the course of hours without a cigarette going by one or both.
The one time my wife did quit was going cold turkey as well as avoiding all the associative behaviors as much as possible. Her life or living situation had a dramatic change so the latter was easier. That lasted a few months until a New Years Eve party at a friends place and she insisted my essentially non-drinking wife have a drink. The rest is history.
She will go through various aspects of tapering off. Like counting how much you smoke each day. Or allocating a certain number per day. Do just 1 less per day. No luck, just a very temporary reduction then full on let's do 2 packs today to make up for what I missed.
About 10 years back or so she tried Chantrix. Being a good rule-bound scientific type she followed the directions EXACTLY. By day 2 she had no desire to smoke. Great! you would think but the "Directions" said not to stop the first week. By week two the cravings were back full bore. Now after 3 years of being tied to the end of a oxygen hose she tried again. No Luck.
A lot has changed for her in 10 years or more considering all the other drugs she takes and her mantra "It's the Only Pleasure I have". I guess coughing your lungs out for 18 cigs to get a little pleasure from 1 or 2 is worth it when for the past 15 years you have a life filled with chronic pain and ..... no clear future thanks to your husband dropping the T-Bomb on you
Take solace in knowing from those in the know, Heroin is easier to kick then nicotine