Hypnotherapy, a new smoking-cessation

Published on July 29, 2008 3:33 AM

Researchers found another smoking-cessation technique, like hypnotism. Sometimes smokers try to quit using nicotine patches to fight their tobacco dependence. But patches don't work for everyone.

New research suggests that patches might be made more effective if used in combination with hypnosis. A recently study showed hypnotherapy to be effective when combined it with nicotine patches in helping cheap cigarettes smokers to quit.

Hypnotherapy is one of many alternative therapies gaining wider acceptance at some of the nation's best hospitals and medical research institutes.

Scientists investigated 286 smokers. They were randomly divided and received either hypnosis or standard behavioral counseling aimed at smoking cessation. During standard behavioral counseling, patient and counselor discussed the dangers of smoking and the benefits of quitting. Participants in both groups were seen for two 60-minute sessions and received three 20-minute follow-up calls to reinforce the messages discussed in either the hypnosis or behavioral counseling treatment sessions.

That finding suggests that smokers, who have struggled with depression, or perhaps with other psychiatric conditions, might receive hypnosis as part of the quitting process.

Scientists emphasized that hypnosis may boost smoking cessation rates only when combined with nicotine patch therapy.

In another study, researchers from the University of California at San Francisco randomly assigned 125 smokers to receive hypnosis and a similar number of smokers to receive behavioral counseling.

After one year, 22 percent of those who had hypnosis had quit smoking compared to 15 percent of those who had traditional counseling.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether hypnosis would be more effective in helping smokers quit than standard behavioral counseling when both interventions are combined with nicotine patches.

Scientists advise smokers who want to quit choosing the treatment or treatments that best suit them.