lodwick, after the surgeon sliced open my hip, he took a hammer and chiseled 3 hunks of bone out of my hip and fused 3 disks in my neck using my hip bone. Then he put a steal plate in my neck to provide stability. The surgeon was very stern, and gave me reading material that explained how the grafts might not 'take' if the patient was a smoker. I do not want to endure this more than once in my life. After smoking since 1963, I quit. It has been painful, but an unsuccessful surgery would have been more painful.
On day two of the Quit Smoking Event, I sneeked some Skool from my sons can,,,, it was nasty stuff. That's when I went to the drug store and bought the Nicorette gum,,, it's pretty bad, too. Big Red Gum and Cinnamon Tic Tacs are my 'vice' of choice at the momment.