Russell Davis – Cognitive Hypnotherapist

Below are some examples of research carried out to see if hypnosis and hypnotherapy can help people stop smoking and the overwhelming results are that it can!  So, perhaps you have tried will power and other means and still wanting to stop smoking.  If so contact me and I am sure we can help you achieve what you want – to be a non smoker.   My Ealing practice has excellent road and public transport links as well as parking.

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. Texas A&M University System Health Science Center College of Medicine, USA. This study presents preliminary data regarding hypnosis treatment for smoking cessation in a clinical setting. An individualized, 3-session hypnosis treatment is described. 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. Most patients (95%) were satisfied with the treatment they received. Recommendations for future research to empirically evaluate this hypnosis treatment are discussed.

Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2001 Jul;49(3):257-66.
Freedom from smoking: integrating hypnotic methods and rapid smoking to facilitate smoking cessation. Barber J. Depts. of Anesthesiology and Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine.

Hypnotic intervention can be integrated with a Rapid Smoking treatment protocol for smoking cessation. Reported here is a demonstration of such an integrated approach, including a detailed description of treatment rationale and procedures for such a short-term intervention. Of 43 consecutive patients undergoing this treatment protocol, 39 reported remaining abstinent at follow-up (6 months to 3 years post treatment).

J Dent Educ. 2001 Apr;65(4):340-7.
Hypnosis, behavioral theory, and smoking cessation, Department of Psychology, Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA. Although nicotine replacement and other pharmacological treatments head the list of popular interventions for smoking cessation, approaches based on psychology can also assist smokers. Hypnosis, suggestion, and behavior therapies have been offered to patients and studied experimentally for several decades. Although no single psychological approach has been found to be superior to others, psychological interventions contribute significantly to successful treatment outcome in smoking cessation. This article describes common hypnotic and behavioral approaches to smoking cessation and critically reviews some of the findings from clinical and experimental research studies. The authors also offer suggestions regarding treatment and future research.

J Occup Environ Med. 1995 Apr;37(4):453-60.
Reducing smoking at the workplace: implementing a smoking ban and hypnotherapy.  Sorensen G, Beder B, Prible CR, Pinney J. Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts. Smoking cessation programs may be an important component in the implementation of worksite smoking policies. This study examines the impact of a smoke-free policy and the effectiveness of an accompanying hypnotherapy smoking cessation program. Participants in the 90-minute smoking cessation seminar were surveyed 12 months after the program was implemented (n = 2642; response rate = 76%). Seventy-one percent of the smokers participated in the hypnotherapy program. Fifteen percent of survey respondents quit and remained continuously abstinent. A survey to assess attitudes toward the policy was conducted 1 year after policy implementation (n = 1256; response rate = 64%). Satisfaction was especially high among those reporting high compliance with the policy. These results suggest that hypnotherapy may be an attractive alternative smoking cessation method, particularly when used in conjunction with a smoke-free worksite policy that offers added incentive for smokers to think about quitting.

Anaesthesia. 1994 Feb;49(2):126-8. Comment in: Anaesthesia. 1994 Oct;49(10):917-8.
Reducing smoking. The effect of suggestion during general anaesthesia onpostoperative smoking habits. Hughes JA, Sanders LD, Dunne JA, Tarpey J, Vickers MD. Department of Anaesthesia, Morriston Hospital, Swansea, West Glamorgan. In a double-blind randomized trial, 122 female smokers undergoing elective surgery were allocated to receive one of two prerecorded messages while fully anaesthetized. The active message was designed to encourage them to give up smoking whilst the control message was the same voice counting numbers. No patient could recall hearing the tape. Patients were asked about their postoperative smoking behavior one month later. Significantly more of those who had received the active tape had stopped or reduced their smoking (p < 0.01). This would suggest a level of preconscious processing of information.

Am J Psychiatry. 1993 Jul;150(7):1090-7.
Predictors of smoking abstinence following a single-session restructuring intervention with self- hypnosis. Spiegel D, Frischholz EJ, Fleiss JL, Spiegel H. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the relation of smoking and medical history, social support, and hypnotizability to outcome of a smoking cessation program. METHOD: A consecutive series of 226 smokers referred for the smoking cessation program were treated with a single-session habit restructuring intervention involving self-hypnosis. They were then followed up for 2 years. Total abstinence from smoking after the intervention was the criterion for successful outcome.

RESULTS: Fifty-two percent of the study group achieved complete smoking abstinence 1 week after the intervention; 23% maintained their abstinence for 2 years. Hypnotizability and having been previously able to quit smoking for at least a month significantly predicted the initiation of abstinence. Hypnotizability and living with a significant other person predicted 2- year maintenance of treatment response. CONCLUSIONS: These results, while modest, are superior to those of spontaneous efforts to stop smoking. Furthermore, they suggest that it is possible to predict which patients are most likely and which are least likely to respond to such brief smoking cessation interventions.

Addict Behav. 1988;13(2):205-8.
Use of single session hypnosis for smoking cessation.  Williams JM, Hall DW. Dept. of Human Resources, University of Scranton, PA. Twenty of sixty volunteers for smoking cessation were assigned to single-session hypnosis, 20 to a placebo control condition, and 20 to a no-treatment control condition. The single- session hypnosis group smoked significantly fewer cigarettes and was significantly more abstinent than a placebo control group and a no treatment control group at posttest, and 4-week, 12-week, 24-week and 48-week follow-ups.