Ways To Kick Smoking – Separate The BS From The Facts

Throughout the country, states have curtained smoking in public areas. Numerous professional companies have declared their work environments to be smoke-free, and are sanctioning workers if they smoke while working. Smokers brave bad weather and rain, sleet or snow, and smoke away as fast as they can in order to go back to work.

In some communities, smoking is a behavior as negatively perceived as using illicit drugs. Since people are aware of stop smoking benefits, many people are working to try to find ways to stop smoking.

There are three components to a smoking habit:

1. Smoking for relaxation and pleasure is about 45 percent of the reason that people continue to smoke.

2. People smoke because they have created an unconscious association between an activity or environment and a cigarette. Then, every time they get into that environment, they get a craving. For instance, an individual may come to associate smoking with their bedtime ritual. They will come to associate smoking with sleep so strongly that it is almost impossible to go to sleep without having a cigarette first. Example: If you watch TV and smoke, the smoking will become a conditioned response to watching TV. So each time you watch TV, you’ll feel an urge to smoke. This is the reason for approximately 45 percent of the smoking habit.

3. People smoke because they develop a physical addiction to Nicotine. Physical addiction is about 10 percent of the reason why people continue to smoke. Within only three days of quitting, a person’s body is completely Nicotine-free!

A number of strategies have been developed to assist people learn ways to quit smoking. One particularly inexpensive way to stop smoking, which is reimbursed through most insurance agencies, is the nicotine patch. These easily applied patches are used for 24 hours and can be secreted beneath a person’s clothing. The problem with these patches, however, is that patches are not very effective. Because patches only deal with the actual addiction, which results in merely one-tenth of the smoking habit, their success rate is only 7%.

Much the same rate of success applied to nicotine gum or lozenges. Not even one in ten clients who use these strategies will report success with these ways to quit smoking for six months or more. In addition, these products sometimes cause side effects. They, are known to be harmful to the users’ mouth and lips, and many people experience skin discomfort under the patch. Remember,, these items treat only the physical addiction, which only comprises around one-tenth of the habit.

Yet another strategy is the development of psychotherapy and smoking cessation sessions. These classes include behavior modification techniques and extensive information regarding the adverse effects of smoking. These methods are three times as successful as nicotine replacement treatments; the success rate is 22% at six months.

Numerous smokers have tried laser treatment programs to help quit smoking. This method is sometimes paid for by insurance, although it is new. Clinical studies performed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), however, reveal that these treatments are not any more effective than placebo. (Placebo is the result that happens when people think they are receiving therapy, but actually are not.)

One of the ways to quit smoking seems to be somewhat more useful than the preceding ways. During one research study, smokers were given shots to help them stop smoking by taking away the ‘buzz’ of the nicotine rush. This strategy, in the beginning phases of testing for success, thus far seems to work for fifteen percent of the individuals who used it.

Hypnotherapy is another way of assisting people to stop smoking. Hypnotherapy focuses on programming the unconscious mind to instantaneously implement other actions to provide comfort and peace, as opposed to the nicotine dependency. It also can be employed to erase or “extinguish” behavioral responses like the connection described between cigarettes and actions in the above example, so the smoker is relieved of the need to smoke when in the environments that previously trigger it.

Male clients seem to have a higher success rate with stop smoking hypnosis than female clients do. One benefit of self hypnosis stop smoking, however, is that, in comparison to individuals utilize nicotine replacement as strategies to stop smoking, there are no undesirable side effects.

Another helpful characteristic of hypnotherapy is that it addresses the 90% facet of the dependence that is psychological, unlike the other approaches that only treat the one-tenth element of the dependence that is physical. For this reason, hypnosis has a much higher success rate than the previously mentioned methods of smoking cessation. Traditional hypnotherapy techniques can offer a 35 percent chance of success, while Ericksonian hypnotherapy can offer a 50% or higher success rate.

A newer, revolutionary, and certainly more effective method that encourages individuals to obliterate a smoking dependency is Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP. This strategy is far more successful than conventional styles of quit smoking hypnosis as it does not rely on post-hypnotic suggestions at all. The majority of clients, especially people who tend to be critical thinkers, resist post-hypnotic suggestions. Through the use of NLP, the person’s unconscious mind is trained to use the same exact mental patterns that cause the mental problem with smoking, to eradicate it!

A well-designed NLP smoking cessation strategy developed by a trained NLP Practitioner can result in a positive outcome rate of as much as 70 percent or greater.

Summary: Most smoking cessation methods try to employ nicotine replacement strategies as ways to stop smoking. Some therapies, like smoking cessation and cognitive or behavioral treatment courses, work to coach the mind learn ways to quit smoking.

Despite the fact that hypnotherapy is more effective than other approaches, particularly with male patients, most people do not rate it as the most useful way to stop smoking. Neuro-Linguistic Programming, which focuses on the mental aspects of nicotine addiction, actually aids individuals to alter their cognitive patterns to help them stop most successfully.

Because 90% of a person’s problem with cigarettes is psychological in nature, these treatments are significantly more successful than simply replacing the nicotine and treating the one-tenth piece of the addiction that is physiological.

Conclusion: A number of smoking cessation programs, such as nicotine replacement therapy and psychotherapy have been developed. These methods typically result in a less than 20 percent success rate. In contrast, hypnotherapy yields a much higher probability of success. Neuro-Linguistic Programming is even more beneficial in assisting individuals to effectively combat the psychological nature of their addiction and realize immeasurably more success in their struggle to become smoke-free.

Alan B. Densky, CH is the developer of the easy way to stop smoking with hypnotism. He offers a potent Stop Smokeless Tobacco program based on the same methods. Learn more at his Neuro-VISION self hypnosis site where you can use Free hypnotherapy videos and articles.

– Alan B. Densky, CH

The Effects Of Cigarette Smoking & The Easy Way to Kick The Habit

Smoking is a harmful and addictive habit that affects millions of people around the world. We now know the dangers of cigarette smoking and smokers are urged to find ways to quit smoking for the benefit of their own health. This is not an easy task, as smokers begin at an early age. The average age of a new smoker is thirteen years old.

A habit formed at that age is not easily broken. Nicotine affects many parts of the body and it is hard to pull free without some help. Nicotine addiction is only one of many diseases which can be caused by smoking. Most smokers require some help on how to quit smoking and a variety of methods exist for this very purpose.

There are many reasons why people begin smoking and develop an addiction to cigarettes. The main reason that people start to smoke is peer pressure. Some young people believe smoking will make them seem more mature, and be popular with their peers. It also is forbidden which makes it all the more attractive to rebellious teenagers, hence the low starting age for many people. This young age makes quitting smoking more challenging in your later years.

Media can also have an impact on the decision to begin smoking. Smoking portrayed on television or in movies can lead someone to believe that smoking is a safe activity. Parents can wield the biggest influence over their children by setting a good example and not smoking, or quitting smoking. Parents who smoke are much more likely to have children who start smoking.

Smokers begin to crave nicotine, a drug within tobacco. Nicotine can affect your body and mind in many negative ways. Nicotine, once inhaled into the lungs reaches the brain in a matter of just eight seconds. Once there, nicotine affects your blood pressure and heart rate. Over time it can increase your bad cholesterol and cause the narrowing of your arteries. Nicotine in concentrated doses is a lethal poison, so you can imagine the effects on your body. Nicotine is also addictive and one of the reasons many smokers cannot quit smoking.

Smoking can affect your health on a variety of levels. Low stamina is one side effect of smoking. More serious smoking related diseases include emphysema and cancer. Strokes and heart disease are also closely linked to cigarette smoking. A person who quits smoking will dramatically reduce their risk of developing these diseases for every year they go without smoking.

The outcome of these medical conditions caused by smoking is grim. Lung cancer is almost always fatal unless caught very early and a full 80% of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking. Lung and heart disease can take years from your life unless you learn how to quit smoking. Emphysema cannot be cured but only managed, plus the damage to your lungs cannot be repaired. Stop smoking benefits include a longer life span and a better quality of life.

There are several different ways to quit smoking, and you must pick the best method for you as an individual. Nicotine patches and gums are designed to help you slowly withdraw from the nicotine addiction. Only about 10% of the people who use them quit smoking. Going cold turkey is another option and this works for up to 11% of the smokers who choose this option. Other frequently used methods to quit smoking include an herbal kit that can show you how to quit smoking. It has a success rate similar to that of nicotine patches and gums.

Hypnosis for smoking cessation is a popular and effective option for those who want to quit smoking without weight gain or withdrawal. Hypnotherapy has a high success rate with smokers who are trying to quit smoking. Quit smoking hypnosis might sound like an extreme solution but it delivers solid results up to 70% of the time. This success rate is many times that of other methods.

The reason hypnotherapy is so effective is that it while the addiction to nicotine makes up only about 10% of the cigarette smoking addiction, the emotional and mental aspects of the habit make up a full 90% of the smoking addiction. Hypnotherapy treats this aspect of the addiction.

In addition, 45% of the smoking behavior is caused by stress, and hypnosis has proven to be a safe and effective tool that can help reprogram the mind to divert away from stressful thoughts, and towards more positive and relaxing thoughts. In addition, the practice of hypnosis therapy incorporates a deep state of relaxation.

Another 45% of the smoking behavior is caused by conditioned responses. This occurs when smoking is associated with other activities and events at the unconscious level of mind. For example, if you smoke while watching TV, your unconscious will associate the image of a cigarette in your hand with the image of the TV. Every time you watch TV, your unconscious flashes an image of the cigarette in your hand, and you experience the compulsion to smoke.

Stop smoking hypnotherapy is regularly used to “extinguish” the conditioned responses by disassociating the unconscious links between cigarettes and TV, driving, coffee, working on your computer, or any other environment where an unconscious association has been created.

In summary: Although most smokers believe that their inability to quit smoking is due to their addiction to nicotine, in truth it’s the mental aspects of a smoking addiction that present the largest barriers. Hypnotherapy was accepted by the American Medical Association in 1958 as an effective tool for quitting smoking. Hypnosis for quitting smoking is the second most common use of hypnotherapy today.

While hourly rates for hypnotherapists continue to skyrocket, there are excellent self hypnosis programs on the market that can greatly reduce its cost. Since everyone is unique, there are no specific “magic” words or post-hypnotic suggestions that will work for everyone. So when choosing hypnosis CDs, look for programs that incorporate a broad variety of hypnotic and NLP techniques in a series of at least six or more sessions to enjoy the best possible outcome. In any case, the cost of the very best self hypnosis programs equates to much less than the amount that an average smoker spends each and every month on buying cigarettes.

Alan B. Densky, CH developed the Video Hypnosis stop smoking technology that helps smokers easily break the habit. He also created many ways to quit smoking using Ericksonian Hypnotherapy and NLP. Visit his Neuro-VISION self development hypnosis site for free hypnosis videos and MP3s.

– Alan Densky