Ex-smokers hoard scarce Nicorette-brand nicotine lozenges

Bob Berens, a television writer in Los Angeles, first noticed back in July that it was getting hard to find the Nicorette lozenges he'd been consuming religiously ever since he quit smoking seven years ago. Neighborhood stores were tapped out. Soon, he was driving across the city to locate even a single box of the elusive product. Berens …