On a Solution to the Cigarette Smokers' Problem (Without Conditional Statements)

The report discusses a problem first introduced by Patil. Patil presented a proof that the problem cannot be solved using the P and V operations introduced by Dijkstra unless conditional statements are used. The report contains a solution to the problem as defined by Patil and shows that Patil's proof overlooks important capabilities for P and V which were used by Dijkstra in his original report. The report also discusses the need for the generalized operators suggested by Patil. (Author)