Does Cold Turkey work?

My dad tried giving up smoking innumerable times over the course of the last thirty some years, each time resorting to the Cold Turkey method. What's cold turkey? Well, it's when you sever all ties with the entity (you're most likely obsessed with) in one fell stroke; give it all up the next instant on. Scientific experiments and personal observation have shown that cold turkey doesn't always work - my dad would quit successfully for a short while after which he'd take to the cigarette again. He's quit since this past May (2004) but this time he has help from nicotine gum, which he totally hates but knows that chewing the gum (which he does rarely) is the crutch he needs to steel his resolve to quit.

I didn't think I'd ever say this: I now understand why my dad would say that quitting was hard, how it was so easy to succumb to the temptation, take the easy way out. It's humbling in a way; with the passage of time, most everything my dad has said to me has proved to be correct and most times, I've had to reverse my opinion on the subject. It's this realization that gives me faith that he's going to be correct again and I'm going to be wrong - was wrong. Only time will tell though, so I guess we'll all find out sometime!