Cigarettes that specifically include no nicotine. People already buy the low-tar varieties etc, but if there was a packet, maybe Regal Nicotine-free or something, that was aimed at people trying to quit.
It is a medical fact that smokers only contain nicotine in their bodies for 60 hours, after that you're a non-smoker. If you smoked these cigarettes for three days you will have overcome your addiction to nicotine and can then stop smoking easier, by either cutting down gradually or just quitting, since the hard part will be over.-- baby_steffee, Apr 03 2001 Honeyrose Herbal cigarettes http://www.honeyrose.com/home.htmlHoneyrose Nicotine and Tobacco Free Herbal cigarettes, for over 30 years. Deluxe/Menthol/Lights/Clove/Vanilla/Ginseng! I've only ever tried these once (a looooong time ago) but I remember that they're not too, too horrible. "WHAT ARE HONEYROSE HERBAL CIGARETTES MADE FROM? Only pure, natural ingredients are found in Honeyrose Herbal Cigarettes: rose petals, marshmallow leaves, red clover flowers, honey and apple juice." sounds weird, huh? but think about what's in 'real' ciggies. bleah. [romy, Apr 03 2001, last modified Oct 04 2004] (wh-hoa! anna lays it down, HB-style! bravo, dear!)
Regardless of the chemical dependancy, there is the psychological aspect of altering habits. When it comes to the *habit* of smoking, I seem to recall that either starting or stopping such a habit requires ~30 days. The links that zippy provided have just the things to help in this regard. (Now, if they could make sugar- and caffeine- free Mountain Dew, I might be able to ween myself of a *long* standing habit... :) )-- absterge, Apr 04 2001 Speaking as a (thankfully) ex-smoker, breaking the psychological addiction is by far the worst part of quitting. I didn't really have many physical symptoms except being very tired (nicotine is a stimulant). Once that was past, the hard times were the times that I was used to smoking. After meals, first thing in the morning, last thing before bed, etc. In my case, I sublimated those urges into drinking more water (which also helps flush all the toxins out and is a better choice than gum).-- Brendan, Apr 04 2001 yeah, I know. If I really cared about my liver or kidneys, I'd just quit soda outright and do like Brendan; if I had such motivation, I wouldn't require such a stepping down as Diet anything. Problem is, I don't wanna quit! I *need* the sensation of that cool, syrupy, bubbly compound... mmm, Dew... excuse me, I have to go mug the vending machine.-- absterge, Apr 04 2001 It's a good idea, one that I would try. I'm a smoker who knows he should quit, but it's a scary idea. What if I try, but fail, to quit?-- snarfyguy, Jan 20 2002 Apparently bones don't heal quite as well (with a marked difference) if there is nicotine in your system. If I can find some of these I may try them. There's also some suspicion about caffeine and alcohol interfering with healing as well. This really sucks!-- Zimmy, Jul 07 2005 The addiction to nicotine is almost impossible to break, so you will always be an ex-smoker. My Grandad gave up smoking after leaving the RAF after WWII, and he still sits in his chair sometimes and wants a cigarette.....-- Minimal, Jul 07 2005 The idea of smoking nicotine-less cigarettes... One of the ways of breaking a drug addiction is to slowly step down from the drug, using less and less of it each day. This allows for the body to become independant of the drug without causing shock to the system, or a sudden, unbearable urge to use the drug again. Now in some cases the drug is replaced with a substitute that has similar effects to the drug, as heroin is treated with methadone, but with smoking, nicotine is used.
That's why they have nicotine patches and gum, so that a person may step down slowly from the actual drug without the extra crap thrown in. They break the smoking addiction without any more ill effects than those resulting from the nicotine itself.
Nicotine addiction is very hard to break by just up and quitting, and that is what these cigarettes want people to do. Besides, what you're getting in these cigs is all of the carcinogenic properties of a cigarette, all the tar, formaldehyde, dimethylnitrosamine, etc. So these cigarettes are nearly as unhealthy as real ones, and don't really help to break the addiction.-- Kozi4361, Jul 07 2005 If you used them in conjunction with patches, you could still smoke and get a nicotine fix while pretending to quit. Clever.-- wagster, Jul 07 2005 random, halfbakery