In somewhat recent years, there was a campaign of anti-smoking commercials from BecomeAnEx.org, and I loved them. It was the very first time I felt like someone really discovered the trick to quitting smoking, and offered it from a sympathetic perspective, with a sense of humor and a sincere desire to help smokers.

I have seen many commercials against smoking through the years. Somehave tried fighting cigarettes by unveiling statistics about smoking and its industry, with this self-righteous "look how clever we are" approach that’s rather alienating. It’s like being told to quit smoking by somebody 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 coping 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 with your morning cup of coffee, during your morning routine, or during happy hour at the bar. These commercials suggested you could relearn all of these activities without a cigarette. The main one about happy hour even suggested you "keep a beer in one hand and anything but a cigarette in another". That’s smart advice.

Physical addiction of nicotine is nothing in comparison with the mental addiction of smoking. This is exactly why 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 quit smoking simply because I was not enjoying it anymore, and that made it far easier to leave. But some of that habitual smoking through association was still rearing its ugly head. Eliminating those last few lines of defense can be the hardest.

Once you quit cigarettes (or are along the way of doing so), you might notice certain new habits taking over temporarily. Once of them is the famous one: eating. And 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 full total sensory connection with playing a video game contributes in distracting the player from other activities like smoking (or socializing… kidding!), but I believe that the controller may be the key. Keeping both of your hands fully occupied and working hastily makes you just forget about holding a cigarette.

And why not? People have a tendency to smoke the most when they are unoccupied, bored and feeling lazy. People smoke on their breaks. People smoke at their laptops and during 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 never let for a half-hearted relationship with them. I remember when I would play games like Halo 3 online, discussing strategies with friends and controlling my Spartan Soldier. I was way too engaged with the overall game to smoke (or use the bathroom, for example!). In fact, when I would light up a cigarette between matches, I’d take my first puff and put it down, once we would already be back in the firefight. By the time I reached for my cigarette again, nothing remained save an extended log of ash, burning away in the ashtray. That’s a powerful moment to notice; I had made my choice. That wouldn’t be the last cigarette I ever endured. But it wouldn’t function as last time I ignored them and only playing video games, either.

Playing video games isn’t a magical solution, and there are a lot of variables when quitting smoking, which means that your mileage can vary greatly. I already wanted to stop smoking, but video gaming helped by running interference, also it helped to help keep me occupied once I quit smoking entirely.

For this time, I was spending a good 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’re not buying). When I’d return from work and settle down for the evening, I would lie on my back in bed doing offers.
iron-fall worked ideal for me, when i was in even less of a position to attain for a cigarette, and much more relaxed than normal. Having said that, I believe a stronger case could be designed for taking your portable on the run, as it’s designed for. Now you’re looking forward to the subway or sitting throughout your lunch break at work, and you’re focusing on your game, without 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 gaming occupying your hands. While Freud would likely reveal smoking can be an oral fixation (see: eating, chewing pen caps), we hold a cigarette in our hands; it is the main appeal. So, when our hands are busy, we are less likely to be holding a cigarette. Playing a casino game engages the upper half of your body arguably a lot more than driving a car does. When driving, you have one free hand to smoke with. Also, most people drive exactly the same roads ad nauseam, and it largely becomes a mindless activity, second nature even. On the other hand, video gaming frequently change things up, producing new challenges and garnering your full attention merely to master (and also survive) them.