Resources

Articles

SIGNPOSTS
Smoked out

by Melanie Bryan

January 1has come and gone. How many of you smokers had resolved to quit, yet are now puffing away again?

Many people desire to stop smoking yet feel powerless to do so, given the momentary pleasure or relief they derive from cigarettes. The belief that smoking decreases appetite, goes well with coffee, after a meal and allows for social bonding while giving you something to do with your hands, makes the task of quitting seem all the more daunting.

Yet the reasons for quitting are undeniable: stopping smoking helps prevent premature death. Stated simply, cigarettes are the only legally available substance which, when used as intended, kill. So, the time to stop really is now. But how?

Popular non-chemical techniques such as acupuncture, behavioural modification programmes, aversive conditioning (continuous smoking to the point of nausea and/or lectures with vivid descriptions of the harmful effects of smoking) have shown little difference in success rates over the long term. The most common drug used for stopping can have some awful side effects for some patients. Patches that flood your body with nicotine and nicotine gum can be addictive.

In contrast, treatment programmes using hypnosis have achieved impressive results. More than 20 years ago, I was smoking 50 cigarettes a day yet I quit easily and without weight gain, using hypnosis. It was this experience that sparked my personal and professional interest in hypnosis and hypnotherapy.

Here are some tips for simply quitting cold turkey, which many, if not most, people do:

Set the date
Decide to give up when you are ready rather than to please someone else. Announce to your friends that you have decided to quit. Choose a gradual method over, say, a two week time period, switch to a brand you despise and smoke only this brand. You will smoke less, gradually being more comfortable not smoking.

If you are physically addicted (in my experience most people are psychologically, rather than
physically addicted), employ the nicotine gum for a short period only.

Clean things up
Whether you go gradual or quit on a pre-selected day, have your flat cleaned thoroughly so the scent of smoke won’t serve as a subtle invitation to resume smoking.

Take to drink
Drink lots of water, exercise (you’ll be amazed at how quickly your lung capacity improves), avoid bars and friends who smoke for a few weeks, and consider rewarding yourself weekly or monthly with the money you save from not smoking.

Alternatively, hypnotherapy can be used for people to recognise their beliefs, and concerns about quitting. Information regarding individual and social patterns of behaviour around smoking, the benefits they receive from smoking, and reasons for quitting are all important.

Melanie Bryan, PsyD, runs MindMatters.hk and is a member of the Hong Kong International Coaching Community (info@coachinghk.org)