Cold turkey works for some not all. Nicotine replacement works for some, not all. I've known people who smoked 3 1/2 packs a day and weren't as addicted to nicotine as someone smoking 3/4 of a pack. It's like alcohol. Some people are just more capable of getting severely addicted to it, and others aren't.
Because addicition is physiological, thinking that every individuals addiciton is going to be exactly the same is as ridiculous as thinking every individuals physiology is the same. If that was the case, everyone would be alergic to the same substance or no one would be.
Now Laz, I'm not sure if you are intentionaly trying to be bombastic (I'm 99% sure you are), but commitment is only half the battle of beating addiction. Strategy is the second part. E.g., if you tried your certain "man up" (nike commercial "just do it") and just quit method of breaking an adiction to certain pain killers (and other medications) it could easily KILL YOU. So while a person addicted to those drugs needs to commitment to quit, they also need a specific strategy to accomplish it.
While nicotine is not fatal when suddenly withdrawn, its use in individuals varies. Its use can be as simple as a stimulant or as complex as self medicating depression or other neurological disorders (bipolar, ADD etc.). The strategy for quitting nicotine for ssomeone who is using it for self medication is going to be different than someone who using it for a stimulant.
So in short, if a person has been unsuccessful quitting nicotine cold turkey, by all means use nicotine replacement if its working for you. The patch makes more sense to me than the gum or inhalers as it doesn't devote your whole day attending to your addiction (reinforcing the psychological aspect of the addiction).
If you've quit numerous times and have went back after months, chances are you are self medicating an underlying condition. Make a plan to see a doctor after a couple of months off of nicotine so you can treat that condition properly. Or see a doctor now and try it with wellbutrin (or other antidepressants that have proven effective - there's about 7 but they don't market as well).
Thats the info - heres the bombast
Only women smoke prerolled cigarettes down here in nutria country. Men fill em and lick em in 5 seconds. Sissies take longer.
And we don't call em cigarettes - hell thats a female cigar. We call em kites or smokes. I bet you're the type that needs to cook your nutria before you eat it (or shreik like a girl and say "ewwwww a RAT!")....