Happy Mind: The Philosophy and Science of Happiness

Katherine Power asks hypnotherapist Steve Griffiths whether hypnosis can help those wanting to give up smoking.

 

Smoking is the biggest cause of death and illness in the UK, according to NHS Direct, and “if you smoke, giving up is probably the greatest single step you can take to improve your health”. Although 70% of smokers want to quit, most believe they can't.  

Hypnotherapist Steve Griffiths, who offers treatments at the Orchid Health Clinic and the Acupuncture Clinic in Hove, says hypnosis can help and that a single session is often sufficient.

 

Steve believes there are three aspects to consider when giving up smoking.

“There is the chemical addiction to nicotine, the habitual side, and thirdly – and most importantly – the psychological dependency,” he says.  

He explains that, even though some people will have a strong chemical addiction to nicotine, in many cases the problem lies elsewhere.

“Social smokers, for example, are not chemically addicted to nicotine,” he says. “You cannot be a social nicotine-addict, just like you cannot be a social crack-addict or a social heroine-addict.”

Instead, many pick up a cigarette when they don't really crave it, simply because they associate smoking with a certain activity, like drinking or socialising. It can be a matter of bad habits, rather than a need for nicotine. It can also be a case of emotional dependence.

“When people smoke, they have an expectation of pleasure,” Steve says. “There is a strong placebo effect to smoking. People expect a cigarette to offer release from stress and so it does, even though nicotine is a stimulant.”

Steve explains to his clients that smoking slows breathing, which can be calming. Once smokers understand what's causing the relaxation, and learn breathing techniques, it's easier for them to give up cigarettes.

“Hypnotic states are deeper than relaxation,” explains Steve. “They are more focused. You go into a hypnotic state when you are about to fall asleep, or when you day-dream. It's very pleasant, and you are more suggestible, but only to a level that is consistent with your moral compass.”

Some argue that hypnosis is an elaborate placebo, that clients convince themselves they are in a special state of mind, and act out the role expected of them, and that it is this expectation which explains the successes of hypnotherapy. Then again, maybe that's not such a damning criticism considering hypnosis is a therapy built around the power of suggestion.

Dax Debice, a 35 year-old cameraman, tried hypnotherapy with Steve in November and hasn't smoked since. He decided to quit after becoming a father.

“When my wife gave birth, we had a session with Steve, and it helped her to relax,” Dax says. “So I tried it myself, to stop smoking, and it worked well.”

Steve asked Dax what aspects of smoking he found disgusting, and then used the images in the hypnosis, to help Dax lose the emotional attachment to cigarettes.

Darcus Shannon, a 24 year-old law student, had a session with Steve in August and has also avoided cigarettes since.

“It wasn't like on TV,” he says. “You are still very aware of everything, and when you leave you feel really nice, very refreshed and relaxed.”

He says there have been times since the session when the idea of having a cigarette popped into his head, but on those occasions he always thought “I don't really need it”.

Darcus had smoked for about eight years. He explained that he started at school, where all the cool kids smoked, and that he tried quitting several times, but always relapsed after a few months.

“Before [the hypnosis] when I quit it was actually more difficult as time went by, but now it's becoming easier with time,” he says.

Darcus would recommend hypnotherapy to anyone trying to quit smoking, but warns not to expect miracles.

“You need to want to quit, and you need will power,” he says.

Hypnosis worked for Dax and Darcus, but what success rate can most smokers expect? In 2005 researchers at the University of Iowa combined the results of more than 600 studies and found hypnosis to be the most effective way of giving up smoking. Whereas the average success rate for all methods was 19 per cent, hypnosis worked 30 per cent of the time, surpassing combination techniques, which came close, with a 29 per cent quitting rate, as well as smoke aversion (25 per cent), acupuncture (24 per cent) and nicotine gums (10 per cent).

Steve doesn't know what proportion of his clients successfully quit, but expects it to be high.

“I offer a free follow-up session after six weeks, for those who go back to smoking after the hypnosis,” he explains. “Less than 10% come back. Of course there could be other explanations, but I also find that a lot of clients send me referrals, and that shows it worked.”