Yesterday I posted research on smoking, the following is some research and facts on smokers trying to quit again this article is from the book “10 Steps To A Smoke Free Life” By Randy A. Gilchrist, Psy. D. courtesy of  www.hypnosisnetwork.com:

+ Of those who attempt to quit on their own (without any additional help or support), only 2-5% are successful after 12 months, with most failing within the first 2-3 weeks (Fiske, 2003; Sherman,1994).

+ Of the 2-5% who do successfully quit on their own, it takes an average of 3-6 attempts over an extended period of time before finally being successful (Sherman, 1994). Fortunately, research based approaches to quitting dramatically increase success rates.

+ Those attempting to quit through behavior modification, nicotine replacement (like “the patch”), or Zyban” (an anti-depressant medication) all average about a 25% success rate. These success rates can increase to as high as 50% when these approaches are used in some combination with each other after a 12-month period (Fisher & Goldfarb, 1998; Fiske, 2003; Psychology Today, 2004; Sherman, 1994).

+ Research studies show that having a single session of hypnosis to stop smoking also produces about a 25% success rate like the other approaches. However, this success rate increases dramatically when additional, complementary hypnosis sessions are added. The success rate of using hypnosis to quit smoking jumps all the way up to 66% when at least 4-5 sessions of hypnosis are used in a 6-12 month period (Hammond, 1990, p. 407).

+ A study presented October 22, 2007 at the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians found that hypnosis was more than twice as effective as quitting “cold turkey,” and over three times as effective as nicotine replacement therapy. The study compared four smoking cessation programs used by former hospital patients who were motivated to quit. 50% of patients using hypnosis quit successfully after only one hypnosis session with recorded sessions for followup, while only 15.78% of those using nicotine replacement quit successfully. Success rates were measured at 26 weeks. Dr. Faysal Hasan, one of the authors of the study, said, “Our results showed that hypnotherapy resulted in higher quit rates compared with NRT alone. Hypnotherapy appears to be quite effective and a good modality to incorporate into a smoking cessation program after hospital discharge.”

NOTE: Beware of stop smoking programs that claim huge success rates like 85-95% – whether or not they include hypnosis. These figures are rarely (if ever) based on legitimate research. In fact, most of these claims are based on no research whatsoever.

The most trustworthy research is objective, statistical, and shows the results over a period of time (as necessary). Furthermore, quality, reliable research is published through a major university and/or appears in a legitimate, peer-reviewed scientific journal. The research cited in this article is based on legitimate research as outlined above. References are listed on the last page of the book “10 Steps To A Smoke Free Life” By Randy A. Gilchrist which can be found as a free download at:

www.hypnosisnetwork.com/hypnosis/quit_smoking