As far as getting your mother to quit smoking, I'm sure you've tried,
and I'm sure she has tried, as well. My parents quit smoking some
fifteen or twenty years ago, and they *still* say it was the hardest
thing they ever did.

Getting a bit off-topic here (and perhaps out of the experience of this
group), but a question: I've never smoked, so I don't know how addictive
nicotine is personally, though I am familiar with the discomfort that
psycho-physical discomfort that dependence can cause in a small way -
don't ask - and I've heard some people say that nicotine is worse than
heroin. But could nicotine patches and gum be used basically as a
substitue for smoking? It wouldn't do anything for the physical habit of
rolling a cigarette in your hand, etc, but could it satisfy the nicotine
cravings on a basically permanent basis?

Jim