I've had GERD every since I went to West Point. (Go figure) Aside from a daily pill of Prilosec, Acifex, or whatever the heck the white-coated drug dealers were pushing that month, I found changing my diet was the best way to combat it. Drinking milk helps, since it's a base. Water helps too, since it dilutes your stomach acid. I did smoke a couple times while my acid reflux was acting up, and it really didn't do anything except for help me not to care about having acid burping up my throat. Something huge that has helped me with the GERD is not drinking any soda at all. Just doing that has made it fairly tolerable.