Indeed, the first thing is the desire of a smoker, but it is not easy for them to implement their desires if they are addicted to smoking.
It is true that any motivation or theory will not be able to make someone stop smoking unless they themselves start with strong intentions.
It is very difficult for someone who is a cigarette addict to stop even though they are aware of the losses they get from smoking, which is quite surprising to me.
Smoking addiction will be difficult to stop, even if you explain any theories and motivations about the dangers of smoking, all decisions depend on yourself, but an effective step to eliminate smoking addiction is to reduce smoking, then slowly smoking addiction will decrease and you can start a healthier life.
Another solution to the problem of smokers is that you have to exercise frequently or increase your sports hobbies that you like. You have to program regular exercise every day or week, because smokers rarely like exercise because they have difficulty controlling their breathing and they will get tired quickly, so the solution above has the potential to motivate you to stop smoking or at least you can avoid smoking addiction.
It's true that if to stop directly in my opinion it will not work completely, right you say effective steps to get rid of the smoking habit can be to reduce smoking consumption, maybe every day used up one pack of cigarettes, well try to reduce it, for example one pack of cigarettes for two days for example. Or however it is. I'm sure everyone has their own cra to quit their smoking habit.
But before that, in my opinion they can stop smoking there must be consistency and strong determination so that they are not easily tempted by smoking, especially after eating. As far as I know cigarette addicts will smoke after they eat, I don't know why but many say it's delicious,. By replacing the habit of smoking using candy, it might be possible, but consuming excessive candy is also not good. Everything has its limits. I agree with you, exercising not only fills time but it also makes our bodies move and is healthy too of course. Self-will is the key to doing your best.