It is certainly the most famous hypnosis application. We all know someone who has quit smoking through hypnosis. These testimonies of people who stopped smoking thanks to hypnosis are corroborated by numerous studies which demonstrate the effectiveness of hypnosis in smoking cessation.  : it is even the most effective method far ahead of patches, nicorettes, etc.

​

If hypnosis is particularly effective, it is not magic either, far from the clichés of the films of Woody Allen, it is impossible to force someone to do something that they do not want. And if it is the best method to quit smoking, there are people who will go into hypnosis and who will not stop smoking. I often say that hypnosis is a tool, a hammer and the role of the hypnotherapist is to make it available to the consultant. Afterwards, when you have a hammer in your hand, it remains to be seen whether you are ready to hit the right nail.

​

So for hypnosis to be effective, it is essential that the person is motivated, that they really want to stop.

"hypnosis is a tool and the role of the hypnotherapist is to make it available"

We often hear that quitting smoking is difficult, if not very difficult. And it is true that many smokers who have tried to quit "  at will  »Find themselves confronted with a lack, a feeling of frustration which makes this period difficult, they can become nervous, stressed, throw themselves on food, gain pounds or even sometimes feel a strong sadness.

​

This is not the case with hypnosis. Indeed, to simplify and generalize, any smoker finds himself in a process that begins with a thought (I am thinking of cigarettes), this thought provokes a sensation, a desire for cigarettes (this sensation, this desire is different for everyone).  : some feel it in the chest, others in the mouth or throat) and this desire then causes an action, a movement of the hand towards the cigarette. When we decide to stop at will, we use our consciousness to prevent the last action. We find ourselves in the following situation  : I think about cigarettes, I want to smoke but I get frustrated and I don't smoke. Gradually in most people, by dint of not smoking, the craving for cigarettes fades and disappears, but in some it is still there for years afterwards.

​

When we stop smoking by hypnosis we work upstream at an unconscious level on the urge to smoke and we therefore find a new process.  : I think about cigarettes, I don't feel like smoking.

We therefore notice that the objective is not to not think about cigarettes. Every non-smoker has the idea of smoking several times a day (when he sees someone smoking, when he walks past a tobacco shop, etc.), but it does not arouse any envy in him.