Quitting smoking is, according to many, as difficult as quitting more serious illegal drugs. The nicotine is in the blood. Withdrawal can bring on the shakes, headaches, nervousness, and insomnia. Cravings are strong and come long after the initial quitting period. To have the strength to resist these feelings is the difficult part.

Smoking cessation is a billion dollar industry. The products to choose from are vast. Nicotine gum, hypnotherapy tapes, stop smoking groups, and an assortment of books at any bookstore provide many ways to reduce the cravings and ease the withdrawal. Most of these products cost money and it can be hard to make your way through the jungle of stop smoking products.

In 1992 the most comprehensive study of smokers trying to quit was carried out at the University of Iowa. Two researchers compounded the information from many different studies using the data collected from over 72,000 smokers. These smokers lived throughout North America, Scandinavia and Europe. The results were published in New Scientist magazine.

On average, the different quit smoking methods had an average of a 25% success rate. Joint techniques, combining exercise and breathing techniques, acupuncture, and stop smoking groups where participants smoke stale cigarettes in confined spaces did not rise above 30% success rate.

The research project examined the data from forty-eight different hypnosis based studies on quitting smoking. Over six thousand smokers participated in these studies. Hypnosis, compared to the other quit smoking techniques, was off the charts. An average of 80% success rate was seen in the different studies. In contrast nicotine gum provided a 10% success rate. The self-help books achieved 9% change.

Hypnosis is clearly the strongest method for quitting smoking successfully. As smoking cessation can be an expensive endeavour, early investment in a hypnosis programme can be money saving. Research shows that often many sessions are not necessary. The average smoker needs between one to four sessions. A trained and licensed professional is also a key to success.