No, this is plain wrong. Nicotine is extremely addictive. Just like a junkie getting off smack trying to remain clean finding themselves wondering around Cabramatta or the Cross looking for a fix, smokers coming off the nicotine will just wander into a newsagent, supermarket, bottle shop, chip shop, service station, or whatever, see the brand they smoke, twitch and buy another pack. Problem is they're everywhere, so the strength needed to not cave is considerable.
The urge to keep smoking is very intense, it's got nothing to do with replacing the hand to mouth action for ~most people~. Drugs which are highly successful like Zyban and now Champix work by blocking nicotine receptors in the brain. Once there is no neurological reward for smoking, the habit dies. About 3 weeks into my course of Zyban, I just stopped smoking, period. Didn't find myself eating more, nibbling on pencils or whatever, the nicotine craving just left and so did the habit. Stupidly, a year later, I got hooked again via a cigar while playing golf. Bam, one hit of nicotine and I was back on the merry go round. Once a smoker, always a smoker. The only way to stay off is to never have "just one" once you've stopped, imho.
Anyway, I'm stopping Sunday or when my pack runs out, whichever comes sooner. Goes well with an alcohol free month. For me, beer and cigarettes are triggers for one another.