| “Hypnosis is the most effective way of giving up smoking”, as reported by the New Scientist article of 1992
The above table based on information in the book Stop Smoking in One Hour, by Valerie Austin : published by John Blake Publishing, and the New Scientist article of 31st October 1992
Please note that on this page the scientific research evidence for the success of hypnosis has been published in a recognized scientific journal (with the full reference given) and therefore has validity as scientific research within the scientific community. Unfortunately, a number of research figures on other sites fail to declare that their claims do not meet this criteria and it is suggested that you treat their figures and claims accordingly.
Schmidt, F.L. & Viswesvaran, C. (1992). A Meta-Analytic Comparison of the Effectiveness of Smoking-Cessation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77 (4), 554-561.
The Journal of Applied Psychology is published by the American Psychological Association, America’s main professional association of psychologists.
Cognitive reactions to smoking relapse by Elliot Wald, Tami J Eggelston PhD & Frederick Gibbson Ph. Article from New Scientist vol 136 issue 1845-31 October 92, page 6
Summary: Hypnosis has the highest success rate of the top 15 methods of quitting smoking. The 15 methods were compared in an exhaustive meta-analysis of 633 scientific studies of smoking-cessation programs. This was the largest study of its kind ever undertaken and involved 71,806 smokers.
Smokers are coming under increasing pressure to quit. Earlier this month the Institute of Actuaries published the results of a study it commissioned which showed that the mortality rate for smokers is twice as high as for non-smokers, and that, on average, a smoker dies 6 years earlier than a non-smoker. Surveys suggest that three in four smokers would like to give up, according to the anti-smoking campaign Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
To find the most effective way to give up smoking, Frank Schmidt and research student Chockalingam Viswesvaran of the University of Iowa carried out a meta-analysis, statistically combining the results of more than 600 studies covering almost 72,000 people from America, Scandinavia and elsewhere in Europe.
By combining the results from so many separate studies, the meta-analysis enables the real effectiveness of each technique to be picked out from the statistical “noise” that often blights studies involving smaller numbers of subjects.
For most smokers the most effective technique was hypnosis, in which smokers go into a state of deep relaxation and listen to suggestive tapes. The analysis of SPAM by hypnosis, which included 48 studies covering over 6000 smokers, gave the highest average success rate for this method. Ten percent of the hypnosis programs had success rates greater than 60%.
Sheer willpower had a success rate of only 6 per cent. Self-help, in the form of books achieved modest success – around 9 per cent, while nicotine gum was a little better at 10 per cent.
David Pollock, director of ASH, said he was surprised by the success of hypnosis, which anecdotal evidence had suggested was not very effective. One organization not surprised by the results is the British Society of Medical & Dental Hypnosis. Christopher Pattinson, the society’s academic chairman, said that current hypnosis techniques are a far cry from their popular image of music-hall tricks involving swinging fob watches. The latest relaxation techniques achieve success rates of up to 60 per cent from a single session, he said.
Richard Doll, the epidemiologist who carried out the pioneering studies of the risk of smoking, said that the apparent success of hypnosis and the high quitting rate of patients with heart disease backed his own observations. He added, however, that he was somewhat surprised by the low success rate of those who resorted to willpower alone.
Wide ranges of variability were found in the success rates for all methods of quitting smoking. So regardless of what method of quitting smoking one chooses, the specific program needs to be selected very carefully.
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