You are the mirror and the face within it.
Jelalludin Rumi

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BBC, 8 November 2000
Although often presented as calming, researchers find that smoking actually increases risk of anxiety .

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My hypnotherapy practice in Brighton & Hove

Free download

Find out what drives addiction and how to break free of it in my free guide The Psychology of Smoking.

Stop Smoking — Free Backup Guarantee!

People up and down the country are stopping smoking. Why not join them?

Some Misconceptions About Smoking

One in two long-term smokers will die from a smoking related illness. The vast majority (around 83%) of smokers say they want to stop smoking. So why don't they?

The most common view is that they are chemically addicted to nicotine. This idea is also heavily promoted by the companies that make smoking cessation pills, patches, lozenges, gum, and other products.

Smoking does have a chemical component. That is why, for example, most smokers enjoy the first cigarette of the day in the same way as alcoholics take the hair of the dog – it takes the body back towards the level of toxicity it was at the previous night. After a period of not smoking (or drinking), however, the body has entirely cleansed itself. There is no nicotine left in the bloodstream only 48 hours after not continuing to smoke, for example.

The 'chemical theory' simply does not hold up, though. If it was true, why do some people stop for months but then start again? Equally, why do some people who absorb nicotine by other means like gum or patches also start smoking again? Their nicotine levels are the same (or sometimes higher) than when they were smoking. If the chemical theory were true, they would not experience cravings but they mostly do.

On the other hand, smokers sometimes go for long periods -- often on trains and planes or at the cinema, for example -- without even noticing it. How is it that smokers will have a cigarette in the morning to wake themselves up and one in the evening to relax? If the chemical component were all that significant, surely the effect would be the same each time?

People do give up smoking while taking nicotine by another method, of course, just as people do dig out of prison with spoons. You can do it -- it is just very hard work! Moreover, you are unconsciously affirming the disempowering chemical theory and ignoring your own vast capabilities.

The Health Development Authority has verified this timetable of progress after you smoke your last cigarette.

20 mins	Blood pressure and pulse rate return to normal.
8 hrs	Nicotine and carbon monoxide levels in the blood reduce by half, oxygen levels return to normal.
24 hrs	Carbon monoxide is eliminated from the body. Lungs start to clear out mucus and other smoking debris.
48 hrs	No nicotine left in the body. Ability to taste and smell is greatly improved.

Source: The Health Benefits of Smoking Cesssation:
A report by the Surgeon General, US DHHS, 1990
Full Table

There can be some withdrawal symptoms as well, of course, just like you might have a hangover after too much drink but you will be free of nicotine in 48 hours

How to Stop Smoking

Patches may provide some short-term help in overcoming the physical effects of stopping smoking, but to become a non-smoker means leaving behind unconscious 'pull' toward a cigarette in a particular situation. Hypnosis will show you how you can free yourself from that 'pull' and become not a smoker who is trying not to smoke, but a non-smoker whose only feelings about cigarettes are either indifference or a pride in no longer being under their control.

Just to repeat what I have written elsewhere on the site, hypnosis is not 'mind control.' It will be you who stops smoking, not me. What I can do, however, is remove the obstacles that have prevented you from stopping before. It would be normal for you to think about cigarettes occasionally for a while but you will be free to choose to do what you want rather than feel compelled to smoke. Almost everybody I have seen has been astonished at how easy it can actually be.

Two Steps To Stopping Smoking

Give me a call and we will have a 10-20 minute chat about stopping smoking. You can use this opportunity to ask any questions you might have. I have nothing to hide, so ask away! I'll give you some things to think about and we will make an appointment for a few days in the future, which will be when you stop. Appointments last about 2 hours. You then go out and see how you get on. When you do things the right way it can seem like magic but it is not so if there are still any situations in which you are finding things difficult, you you can come to see me again for free.

I am still only charging £95. Give me a ring!

Free download

Find out what drives addiction and how to break free of it in my free guide: The Psychology of Smoking.

See also: What Happens When You Stop Smoking — a full version of the table above
New Scientist article finds hypnosis to be “the most effective way of giving up smoking