I've had the opposite experience. Whenever I was down to one or two cigarettes per day, I'd find myself using almost 100% of all my brainpower trying to convince myself to not give in to the craving. In the end, I decided that it would be more productive to smoke a few sticks a day and not have the craving run as a * * * * * /bin/trytosmoke cron job the whole day.
I've been able to keep it down to about 5 per day for a couple of years now.
The last three months I've managed to smoke a total of seven cigarettes.
Its a major pain. In reality my ambition was to quit completely but... when the craving hits me I find myself using my entire mind- all the logical skills I've learned over the years- completely focused on convicing myself why I should take that ciggie. That its ok. That its not _that_ bad for my health. etc.
And its almost impossible to resist.
At least for me, its this last cigarette I find the most difficult.