Smoking Cessation
1. Smoking Cessation
In 2007, researchers from North Shore Medical Center in Salem, Massachusetts compared 67 people who wanted to quit smoking and were divided into 4 groups based on their method of smoking cessation treatment: (a) hypnotherapy; (b) nicotine replacement therapy; (c) nicotine replacement therapy plus hypnotherapy; and (d) quitting “cold turkey.” They concluded that a person may be more likely to quit smoking through the use of hypnotherapy than by using other smoking cessation methods. This study shows that smokers who participated in one hypnotherapy session were more likely to be nonsmokers after 6 months compared with patients using nicotine replacement therapy alone or patients who quit "cold turkey.”[1.1]
In 1992, researchers from the University of Iowa statistically analyzed the results of 633 smoking cessation studies involving 71,806 participants. They concluded that hypnosis was the most effective technique used to quit smoking. In fact, they found that a single session of hypnosis is three times more effective than nicotine gum and five times more effective than willpower alone.[1.2]
In 2004, researchers from Texas A&M University’s Health Science Center studied 21 smokers who had failed in previous unassisted attempts to stop smoking. The participants were given three hypnosis sessions and also a tape recording with a hypnotic induction they could use on their own time. At the end of the program, 17 subjects (81%) reported that they had stopped smoking. A 12-month follow-up revealed that 10 of them (48%) remained smoke-free.[1.3]
In 2015, researchers from the Faculty of Nursing at the Beni-Suef University in Egypt studied 59 male secondary school students who were smokers. These subjects were taught self-hypnosis for the purpose of quitting smoking. After nine weeks of doing the self-hypnosis, 65.4% of those studied had stopped smoking.[1.4]
1.1. Hypnotherapy For Smoking Cessation Sees Strong Results
Results: Hospitalized patients who smoke may be more likely to quit smoking through the use of hypnotherapy than patients using other smoking cessation methods. This study shows that smoking patients who participated in one hypnotherapy session were more likely to be nonsmokers at 6 months compared with patients using nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) alone or patients who quit "cold turkey.”
Notes: This study compared the quit rates of 67 smoking patients hospitalized with a cardiopulmonary diagnosis. All patients were approached about smoking cessation and all included in the study were patients who expressed a desire to quit smoking. At discharge, patients were divided into four groups based on their preferred method of smoking cessation treatment: hypnotherapy (n=14), NRT (n=19), NRT and hypnotherapy (n=18), and a group of controls who preferred to quit "cold turkey" (n=16). All patients received self-help brochures. The control group received brief counseling, but other groups received intensive counseling, free supply of NRT and/or a free hypnotherapy session within 7 days of discharge, as well as follow up telephone calls at 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 26 weeks after discharge. Patients receiving hypnotherapy also were taught to do self-hypnosis and were given tapes to play at the end of the session.
At 26 weeks after discharge, 50 percent of patients treated with hypnotherapy alone were nonsmokers, compared with 50 percent in the NRT/hypnotherapy group, 25 percent in the control group, and 15.78 percent in the NRT group. Patients admitted with a cardiac diagnosis were more likely to quit smoking at 26 weeks (45.5 percent) than patients admitted with a pulmonary diagnosis (15.63 percent).
The researchers note that hospitalization is an important opportunity to intervene among patients who smoke.
This study as presented at Chest 2007, the 73rd annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians Oct. 24, 2007
By: Faysal Hasan, MD, FCCP, North Shore Medical Center, Salem, MA Dr. Hasan and colleagues from North Shore Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital
1.2. Smoking Cessation A Meta-Analytic Comparison of the Effectiveness of Smoking Cessation Methods
Results: They found that among of all of the techniques used, hypnosis was the most effective. They found that a single session of hypnosis was three times more effective than the nicotine gum and five times more effective then willpower alone (willpower was 6%; nicotine gum was 10% and a single hypnosis session was 30%).
Notes: The Institute of Actuaries (in the US) commissioned the largest study ever done on smoking cessation. It statistically analyzed the results of 633 smoking cessation studies involving 71,806 participants.
Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol 77(4), Aug 1992, 554-561
By: C. Viswesvaran, F. L. Schmidt, Department of Management and Organizations, University of Iowa, Iowa City 52242
1.3. Clinical Hypnosis for Smoking Cessation: Preliminary Results of a Three-Session Intervention
Results: At the end of the program 17 subjects (81%) reported that they had stopped smoking. A 12-month follow-up revealed that 10 of them (48%) remained smoke-free.
Notes: Twenty-one smokers who were referred to this study by their physicians for medical reasons, received three smoking cessation hypnosis sessions. All patients reported having failed in previous unassisted attempts to stop smoking. The clinical-treatment protocol included three sessions. The first session was the initial consultation and did not include a hypnotic induction. Sessions 2 and 3 involved individually adapted hypnotic suggestions and an individual therapeutic relationship with each patient. Each patient was also provided with a cassette tape recording of a hypnotic induction with direct suggestions for relaxation and a feeling of comfort. The patients were seen biweekly for treatment.
Hypnotic Suggestions: Absorption in relaxing imagery, a commitment to stop smoking, decreased craving for nicotine, posthypnotic suggestions, practice of self-hypnosis, and to visualize the positive benefits of smoking cessation. The induction was standardized, but the specific imagery for relaxation and the positive benefits for smoking cessation were individualized based upon the patient’s preference regarding such imagery.
Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2004 , Jan;52(1):73-81
By: G. R. Elkins, M. H. Rajab, Texas A&M University’s Health Science Center
1.4. Effect of Hypnotherapy on Smoking Cessation Among Secondary School Students (2015)
Background: Hypnotherapy is widely promoted as a method for aiding smoking cessation. It is proposed to act on underlying impulses to weaken the desire to smoke or strengthen the will to stop. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of hypnotherapy on smoking cessation among secondary school students.
Method: A random sample of 59 male smokers was selected from two governmental secondary schools. Design: A quasi- experimental design was used. Tools: Data were collected using; A- an Interview Questionnaire included; I- smoking assessment tool to determine the smoking rate among males students. II-Characteristics of studied students regarding smoking pattern. III- Smoking Cessation Questionnaire. B- Wisconsin smoking withdrawal scale. The hypnotherapy was implemented after assessing the rate of male smokers, the researchers trained the students in practicing self hypnosis, and asked them to practice it at home and to document the frequency of daily smoked packs for nine weeks.
Results: The present study findings indicated that the rate of male smokers among secondary school students in Beni-Suef city was 52.4%, about two third of studied students (65.4%) stopped smoking after nine weeks of practicing hypnosis and the percentage of smoked packs of cigarettes/ day decreased after implementing the program.
Conclusion: The present study findings showed that hypnotherapy has a therapeutic effectiveness in achieving a high rate of smoking cessation among secondary school students. There was a highly significant difference in total score of smoking withdrawal index before and after intervention. Recommendation: Community and school education programs should include sessions on quitting smoking, implementing school-based interventions in combination with anti-tobacco mass media campaigns.