It is often said that nicotine is a very addictive substance right up there with heroin and cocaine.
This explains, (according to the quit smoking 'experts'), why so many people continue to smoke despite the health risks.
But the highly addictive nature of nicotine is actually a false myth.
Unlike highly addictive substances such as heroin, cocaine and alcohol, there are no serious health implications associated with nicotine withdrawal.
If you're having a "nic fit", it doesn't mean you're on the floor having convulsions with drool coming out your mouth.
It means you really, really want a smoke and are probably in a bad mood because you're not getting one.
The craving for a nicotine fix only lasts as long as nicotine levels in your blood are diminishing.
Once all the nicotine is purged from your system the craving for a nicotine fix disappears too.
This usually takes between 3 to 5 days.
So after a few days of refraining from smoking (and not getting nicotine from other sources as is fashionable these days), your physical addiction is completely gone.
And it's not that difficult to do.
Having been a long-term smoker myself I speak from direct experience.
So why do people sometimes crave a cigarette and go back to smoking weeks, months, even years after quitting? Because smoking is enjoyable and we miss the pleasure it once gave us.
A moment of weakness and we deceive ourselves that we can just have one smoke for 'old times sake' and leave it at that.
But one smoke is never enough.
Our old nicotine addiction is immediately reactivated.
Before we know it we're back in the same old habit again.
Now there are such people who can occasionally have a cigarette without letting it become a habit.
But they are few and far between.
The vast majority of us are either smokers or non-smokers.
No in-betweens.
But how could smoking possibly be enjoyable - you ask? Relating the pleasure of smoking to a nonsmoker is not easy.
Smoking can fill many sorts or needs.
Smoking can be a rewarding a social activity - particularly now that smokers in many countries are forced to huddle outside in little packs.
How many people have met their husbands, wives, partners, etc.
sharing a smoke? We smoke to celebrate.
We smoke to relieve stress.
We smoke to kill time.
We smoke when we are bored.
Smoking can be like 'mother'.
She always there to comfort us.
It is the psychological addiction to smoking that must be confronted and dealt with if we are to remain non-smokers after having our 'one last puff'.
Until the quit smoking establishment acknowledges this fact their best efforts to get people to stop smoking will be largely ineffective.