Research on Smoking Cessation with Hypnosis

Hypnotherapy over three times more effective than nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation

A study compared smoking cessation rates between groups that used hypnotherapy (a 90-minute session), hypnotherapy with nicotine replacement and nicotine replacement only. Analysis of the results showed that the groups using hypnotherapy were over three times more likely than the group using nicotine replacement to abstain after 6 months.

Hasan, F. M., Zagarins, S. E., Pischke, K. M., Saiyed, S., Bettencourt, A. M., Beal, L., . . . Mccleary, N. (2014). Hypnotherapy is more effective than nicotine replacement therapy for smoking cessation: Results of a randomized controlled trial. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 22(1), 1-8.

Successful outcomes from hypnotherapy at 6 and 12 months

4 hypnotherapy trials (273) were included in a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that reported abstinence at 6 or 12 months. Results indicated a positive association of hypnotherapy with successful outcomes.

Tahiri, M., Mottillo, S., Joseph, L., Pilote, L., & Eisenberg, M. J. (2012). Alternative Smoking Cessation Aids: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. The American Journal of Medicine, 125(6), 576-584.

Hypnosis compares favorably to behavioral counseling

A study of 286 smokers compared the effectiveness of hypnosis versus behavioral counseling when both interventions were combined with nicotine patches. At 6 months, 26% of the participants in the hypnosis group were abstinent compared with 18% of the behavioral group. At 12 months, the abstinence rate was 20% for the hypnosis group compared to 14% for the behavioral group. It was concluded that, for long-term quit rates, hypnosis compares favorably to standard behavioral counseling when used with nicotine patches.

Carmody, T., Duncan, C., Simon, J., Solkowitz, S., Huggins, J., Lee, S., & Delucchi, K. (2008). Hypnosis for smoking cessation: A randomized trial. Nicotine & Tobacco Res. Nicotine & Tobacco Research CNTR, 10(5), 811-818.

Hypnosis patients twice as likely to remain smoke-free after two years

Study of 71 smokers showed that after a two-year follow up, patients that quit with hypnosis were twice as likely to remain smoke-free than those who quit on their own.

Guided health imagery for smoking cessation and long-term abstinence. Wynd, CA. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 2005; 37:3, pages 245-250.

Intensive hypnotherapy for smoking cessation

Twenty subjects were given intensive hypnotherapy (8 sessions over 2 months) for smoking cessation, or assigned to a control group. Abstinence rates for the hypnotherapy group were 40% at the end of treatment; 60% at 12 weeks, and 40% at 26 weeks.

Elkins, G., Marcus, J., Bates, J., Rajab, M. H., & Cook, T. (2006). Intensive Hypnotherapy for Smoking Cessation:A Prospective Study. Int. J. of Clinical & Expt. Hypnosis NHYP International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 54(3), 303-315.

81% reported they had stopped smoking after hypnosis

Thirty smokers enrolled in an HMO were referred by their primary physician for treatment. Twenty-one patients returned after an initial consultation and received hypnosis for smoking cessation. At the end of treatment, 81% of those patients reported that they had stopped smoking, and 48% reported abstinence at 12 months post-treatment.

Texas A&M University, System Health Science Center, College of Medicine, College Station, TX USA. Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2004 Jan;52(1):73-81. Clinical hypnosis for smoking cessation: preliminary results of a three-session intervention. Elkins GR, Rajab MH.

87% reported abstinence from tobacco use with hypnosis

A study of 93 male and 93 female CMHC outpatients examined the facilitation of smoking cessation by using hypnosis. At 3-month follow-up, 86% of the men and 87% of the women reported continued abstinence from the use of tobacco using hypnosis.

Performance by gender in a stop-smoking program combining hypnosis and aversion. Johnson DL, Karkut RT. Adkar Associates, Inc., Bloomington, Indiana. Psychol Rep. 1994 Oct;75(2):851-7.

Hypnosis most effective says largest study ever: 3 times as effective as patch and 15 times as effective as willpower

Hypnosis is the most effective way of giving up smoking, according to the largest ever scientific comparison of ways of breaking the habit. A meta-analysis, statistically combining results of more than 600 studies of 72,000 people from America and Europe to compare various methods of quitting. On average, hypnosis was over three times as effective as nicotine replacement methods and 15 times as effective as trying to quit alone.

Viswesvaran, C., & Schmidt, F. L. (1992). A meta-analytic comparison of the effectiveness of smoking cessation methods. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77(4), 554-561.

Single-session hypnosis subjects smoked significantly less

A study involving 60 subjects assigned 20 to single-session hypnosis group, 20 to placebo control, and 20 to a control group receiving no intervention. In follow-ups at 4, 12, 24 and 48 weeks the hypnosis group smoked significantly less and were significantly more abstinent.

Williams, J. M., & Hall, D. W. (1988). Use of single session hypnosis for smoking cessation. Addictive Behaviors, 13(2), 205-208.