In somewhat recent years, there is a campaign of anti-smoking commercials from BecomeAnEx.org, and I loved them. It had been the very first time I felt like someone really discovered the secret to quitting smoking, and offered it from a sympathetic perspective, with a feeling of humor and a sincere desire to help smokers.
 I've seen many commercials against smoking over time. Somehave tried fighting cigarettes by unveiling statistics about smoking and its own industry, with this particular self-righteous "look how clever we are" approach that is rather alienating. It's like being told to give up smoking by someone who is more invested in their marketing pitch compared to the problem at hand.
 And then there were the deluge of "scare tactic" commercials that show you blackened lungs and people living with tracheotomies. While I believe these commercials hold some worth, they're more likely to provide a smoker pause, instead of actually helping them to quit. Our selective memory kicks in, and kicks out the bad ones.
 These campaign, however, nailed the essence of the smoking problem in several brief moments. It pointed out that smoking is strongly connected to habitual behavior; you smoke together with your morning cup of coffee, throughout your morning routine, or during happy hour at the bar. These commercials suggested that you may relearn most of these activities without a cigarette. The main one about happy hour even suggested you "keep a beer in one hand and not a cigarette in another". That's smart advice.
 Physical addiction of nicotine is nothing in comparison with the mental addiction of smoking. For this reason wearing a patch doesn't instantly repair the problem; a smoker still really wants to hold and smoke a cigarette. Mental addiction is king. I was quite lucky; I gradually gave up smoking simply because I was not enjoying it anymore, and that made it far easier to walk away. But some of that habitual smoking through association was still rearing its ugly head. Removing those last few lines of defense could possibly be the hardest.
 Once you quit cigarettes (or are in the process of doing so), you may notice certain new habits overtaking temporarily. Once of them is the famous one: eating. Along with other ones pop-up, like chewing the caps from pens (until they're completely unrecognizable). However, one activity that interfered with my smoking was entirely by chance, and yet so effective at keeping my body and mind off of smoking, it must be recommended in support groups: playing video games.
 It really is probably arguable that the total sensory connection with playing a video game contributes in distracting the ball player from other activities like smoking (or socializing... kidding!), but I really believe that the controller is the key. Keeping both of your hands fully occupied and working hastily makes you forget about holding a cigarette.
 And why not? People have a tendency to smoke the most if they are unoccupied, bored and feeling lazy. https://wilhelmsensvendsen77.wordpress.com/2021/04/28/must-have-video-games-for-your-play-station-3/ smoke on their breaks. People smoke at their laptops and throughout a football game on television. It's down time, time and energy to drink a beer, have a smoke watching a movie!
 Video games are down-time too, but do not let for a half-hearted relationship using them. I remember when I'd play games like Halo 3 online, discussing strategies with friends and controlling my Spartan Soldier. I was much too engaged with the overall game to smoke (or utilize the bathroom, for example!). In https://writeablog.net/svendsenmcguire91/must-have-video-games-for-the-play-station-3-jm8h , when I'd light a cigarette between matches, I'd take my first puff and put it down, as we would already be back in the firefight. By the time I reached for my cigarette again, nothing remained save a long log of ash, burning off in the ashtray. That is clearly a powerful moment to notice; I had made my choice. That wouldn't function as last cigarette I ever had. But it wouldn't function as last time I ignored them in favor of playing video games, either.
 Playing video games isn't a magical solution, and there are lots of variables when quitting smoking, which means that your mileage may vary. https://diigo.com/0kdlxm wanted to quit smoking, but video gaming helped by running interference, and it helped to help keep me occupied once I quit smoking entirely.
 For this time, I was spending a great deal of my gaming time with portable systems, just like the DS Lite and the PSP (the best part is when you easily justify your PSP purchase, using the amount of cigarettes you are not buying). When I'd return from work and relax for the evening, I would lie on my back in bed playing games. That worked great for me, when i was in even less of a posture to reach for a cigarette, and even more relaxed than normal. Having said that, I think a stronger case could possibly be made for taking your portable on the run, as it's designed for. Now you're waiting for the subway or sitting throughout your lunch break at the job, and you're working on your game, with no free hands or time and energy to smoke. Try reading the newspaper instead, or worse, just standing or sitting there. Smoking will become a lot more tempting.
 I can't stress the importance enough of video games occupying your hands. While Freud would likely tell us smoking can be an oral fixation (see: eating, chewing pen caps), we hold a cigarette in our hands; it is area of the appeal. So, when our hands are busy, we have been less likely to be holding a cigarette. Playing a casino game engages the upper 1 / 2 of your body arguably a lot more than worries does. When driving, you have one free hand to smoke with. Also, a lot of people drive exactly the same roads ad nauseam, also it largely becomes a mindless activity, second nature even. In contrast, video games frequently change things up, producing new challenges and garnering your full attention merely to master (and even survive) them.