I don't think its easy by any means, or even possible in every situation. But to become an addict you program your brain to need something. So, if you were to program it to be thoroughly disgusted by that same thing, you'd be cured. I think we have the ability to do that. AA teaches you how to cope, and how to choose to avoid the thing you love. That's not a cure, and that's why it has to be ongoing for the rest of your life. What I'm talking about is more along the lines of some mixture of brainwashing and drugs. Re-program those synapses. I don't have links or evidence, I'm just speculating here. I think a heavy smoker could probably get in a bad accident where they suffer brain trauma, and come out of it having zero interest in tobacco. Why? Who knows. We are just big bags of chemicals after all.