Interesting observation Susan! Back in my navy bootcamp days they actually gave smoke breaks to smokers while if there were any extra duties to be conducted the non-smokers were expected to keep going. It was the only time in my life that I saw non-smokers contemplate an immediate benefit from smoking.
I read recently that roughly 20% of drinkers have drinking problems while only 5 to 10% of drinkers are chemically dependent upon alcohol. With between 70 to 90% of adult smokers chemically dependent upon nicotine it's almost the reverse. Imagine if 90% of regular adult smokers were not dependent upon nicotine but instead, like drinkers, were free to come or go as they pleased . It's my guess that like with alcohol, you'd see a bit more social sharing and encouraging each other to smoke a bit of nicotine!
But reality is reality! Just one big puff of new nicotine and the comfort is over for this kid and it's back to working hard each day to keep pace with his constantly falling blood serum nicotine level. Being an actively feeding nicotine addict is work!