Hi ticker tape and welcome to NeuroTalk
My son and husband both have TS
There is research that shows that the dreaded nicotine does seem to help to reduce tics, tho as you well know, the health hazards of smoking far outweigh the benefits of reduced ticcing!
My son has been on an alternative treatment regimin for his TS for almost 7 years now with great success, and his tics dramatically reduced very soon after we started it. I have documented it on the TS Forum here
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=1145
look forward to getting to know you