Not breathing is also an alternative. Perhaps I should have said that vaping is an obvious alternative to smoking

I'm unclear why it's an obvious alternative. Nothing inevitable about the use of nicotine (or THC).

except for the rich and far-reaching history of human substance use (or abuse, depending on your perspective)

Also gums, patches, etc.

I'd guess patches as the best, because the slow release breaks a lot of the fun of the addiction cycle. Apparently though, it's best to use both patches and one other NRT - https://www.cochrane.org/CD013308/TOBACCO_what-best-way-use-...

Vaping is just too much like smoking. It's basically the same habit, it's got the same quick hit, you'll have very similar rituals (leave your desk, go for a vape break, "light up", etc).

There's also the community factor. There's no nicotine patch community, but there's a vaping community. Maybe the vaping community was originally all people trying to quit cigarettes, but now it's also a gateway to people getting into smoking.