Do you mean going from not smoking at all, to chewing nicotine gum? I find that tempting, along with electronic cigarettes, because of the upsides to nicotine. It still seems like a bad idea in the long run due to withdrawal effects in the event that nicotine was unavailable.
I personally have a tough time filtering out inputs, and find my attention forcibly split between paying attention to nearly everything whether I want to or not. This makes me act and plan more linearly than is optimal, and is horrible for crowded rooms, but otherwise doesn't disable me. Also, I have a strong dislike of the action of chewing gum. I was recently joking about not being able to walk and chew gum at the same time, and I wonder if it might actually have some truth to it? I would like to know everyone's (but especially people with similar filtering issues) habits regarding gum.
How often do you chew gum?
(The poll is in the first comment.)