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In somewhat recent years, there is a campaign of anti-smoking commercials from BecomeAnEx.org, and I loved them. It was the first time I felt like someone really discovered the trick to quitting smoking, and offered it from a sympathetic perspective, with a feeling of humor and a sincere need 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 particular self-righteous "look how clever we are" approach that’s rather alienating. It’s like being told to give up smoking by a person who is more committed to 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 think these commercials hold some worth, they’re more likely to give a smoker pause, rather than 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 remarked that smoking is strongly linked 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 that you can relearn these activities without a cigarette. The one about happy hour even suggested you "keep a beer in one hand and anything but a cigarette in the other". That is smart advice.

Physical addiction of nicotine is nothing in comparison with the mental addiction of smoking. This is the 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 had not been enjoying it anymore, and that managed to get 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 can be the hardest.

When you quit cigarettes (or are along the way of doing so), you may notice certain new habits overtaking temporarily. Once of them may be 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, yet so able to keeping my mind and body off of smoking, it should be recommended in support groups: playing video games.

It is probably arguable that the full total sensory connection with playing a video game contributes in distracting the ball player from other activities like smoking (or socializing… kidding!), but I believe that the controller may be the key. Keeping both hands fully occupied and working hastily enables you to 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 the 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 and watch 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 much too engaged with the overall game to smoke (or utilize the bathroom, for that matter!). In fact, when I’d light up a cigarette between matches, I would take my first puff and put it down, as we would already be back 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 is clearly a powerful moment to notice; I had made my choice. That wouldn’t be the last cigarette I ever endured. But it wouldn’t be the last time I ignored them in favor of playing video games, either.

Playing video games isn’t a magical solution, and there are plenty of variables when quitting smoking, so your mileage may vary. I already wanted to quit 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 great deal of my gaming time with portable systems, like the DS Lite and the PSP (the very best part is once you easily justify your PSP purchase, in line with the amount of cigarettes you’re not buying). When I’d return from work and relax for the evening, I would lie on my back bed playing games. That worked great for me, as I was in even less of a posture to attain for a cigarette, and even more relaxed than normal. Having said that, I believe a stronger case could possibly be designed for taking your portable on the run, as it’s designed for. Now you’re waiting for the subway or sitting during your lunch break at the job, and you’re working on your game, without free hands or time to smoke. Try reading the newspaper instead, or worse, just standing or sitting there. Smoking can be a lot more tempting.

I can’t stress the importance enough of video gaming occupying your hands. While
website would likely tell us smoking can be an oral fixation (see: eating, chewing pen caps), we hold a cigarette inside our hands; it is section of the 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 the same roads ad nauseam, also 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.