I smoke on and off - tend to quit for awhile then start again. Back when I was doing full-time office-style programming gigs, I found it a good excuse to go outside and walk around if I was stuck on some particular problem, and it always worked wonders in that regard.
That being said, It's a nasty/expensive habit and I don't recommend it to anyone. Anecdotal evidence: of the 600 or so people at the last startup school, I saw maybe 4 people light up, so it can't be very prevalent among good hackers.
I was working at a well respected hacker company for a brief period. Out of something like 200 people in the office I was the only smoker as far as I could tell.
Ever since I've considered it a reasonable way to judge a company. Maybe a good interview question: "So, how many of your programmers smoke?"
That chance to just walk out for a few minutes (or simply just to walk...) was probably the main reason I didn't want to stop smoking when I still worked for companies. I just find it hard solving some problems while sitting at a desk - can't help it. Once I started working from home it was suddenly no longer such a problem to stop smoking. Now when I feel like it I just stand up and walk around the room. No more need for excuses.
I wonder if one of the desks where you can stand would also have helped - I never had the chance to work at one of those.
I feared the same thing when I stopped smoking, but I found, to my great surprise, it's actually possible to get up from your desk and go for a little walk WITHOUT smoking.
At least for an ex-smoker it also takes a lot more discipline. It's the habits that are the hardest to break. After a good meal or during a work-break the urge to light up is the strongest, even when you quit long ago.
Moreover a cigarette provides a nice time-frame and the illusion of of doing something. You can have a "one cig break" or a "two cig break". And you have something to do while thinking, which helps with the process (at least it does for me).
I understand you're passionate about this issue, but you've really got to stop flooding the conversation threads with your postings. I don't object to one or two, or even more than that. However you've posted a ton of similar one liners with no sign of slowing down.
If people go and look at their comment threads as often as I do (to see if there have been replies), this tactic is more likely to be effective here on HN, as opposed to sites that notify you when there's been a reply so that you only look then.
That being said, It's a nasty/expensive habit and I don't recommend it to anyone. Anecdotal evidence: of the 600 or so people at the last startup school, I saw maybe 4 people light up, so it can't be very prevalent among good hackers.