WIY, you said ” Its an addiction but not in the same league as hard drugs”.
You have no idea about the science of addiction. Nicotine addiction is exactly the same as addiction to cocaine or alcohol. The brain’s receptors attach to the nicotine. The only reason that nicotine addiction is not categorized like drug addiction is because tobacco products are still legal and relatively affordable. You only smoked for 8 years – success at quitting is increased when you smoked for a relatively short period of time. Before you start spouting facts, you should make sure that they are factual. What you have posted about nicotine addiction is untrue.
Health: I completely forgot about the Zyban/patch combo. I tried that as well. As for the anti-emetics. I only tried one kind – dimenhydrinate which is known as Gravol in Canada. I am very sensitive to this category of drug and Gravol is about all that I can tolerate. Over the years, I have been on almost every anti-emetic on the market because of other health problems and medications that I have been on. There was a point in time – about 20 years ago, that I required about 10 Gravol daily. Needless to say I had great difficulty staying awake.
What surprises me is that any young person today would even begin smoking. They are taught from a very young age about the dangers of smoking. When I began smoking fifty years ago, almost everyone did it including the doctors. Nobody knew that it was dangerous. I recall that when I was pregnant my doctor told me that it was wonderful that I smoked because I would have an smaller baby and therefore an easier delivery. Can you imagine that advice being given today?