1. Smoked in college in earnest.
2. Started quitting after college with great difficulty.
3. Failed to quit for more than ~6 months at a go for a decade and half.
4. Started smoking e-cigs / vape last year (the liquid kind).
5. Quit vaping AND smoking months ago WITHOUT EVEN TRYING.
There was a pleasure loop hard-wired in my brain from smoking that I could ignore but would always win if 1) I was exceptionally stressed out or 2) I was drunk.
Without any difficulty whatsoever and without a conscious effort to do so, vaping somehow de-programmed that loop. My desire to smoke anything just disappeared. Stress and alcohol cause zero cravings now.
Further:
1. I don't recommend smoking. Risks far outweigh the benefits.
2. I don't recommend vaping unless you already smoke cigarettes and want to quit.
3. YMMV.