What is the best way to quit smoking?

There is a lot of controversy over what is the best way to quit smoking, and
Google will happily give you a multitude of advice on the many ways to quit
smoking that are available along with a million tips from many different sources.

A lot of people believe the best way to stop smoking is by trying to deal with
the physical addiction to nicotine. There are several ways to quit smoking using drug based therapies such as patches, nicotine gum and anti-smoking drugs like Zyban and Champix. Whilst using these quit smoking techniques does work for some people in the long term, they only address one aspect of the smoking issue – the physical addiction to nicotine.

It is accepted thinking by doctors and medical professionals that the physical addiction to nicotine is only around 5 to 10% of the problem, and the other 90% or more is mental. It is in fact a battle between the two parts of the mind… the conscious and the sub-conscious – hence, the best way to quit smoking is to work at this level.

Of the many known tips to quit smoking, and of the most recognized, powerful and accepted, is the use of hypnosis to effectively reprogram the smoker’s mindset around the smoking habit. The problem is believed to be that in the smoker’s subconscious mind there are beliefs about smoking which are causing the subconscious mind to hold onto the smoking habit. A few examples of these beliefs are “smoking helps me relax”, “smoking helps me concentrate”, “smoking helps me to manage stress”, “smoking stops me from feeling bored”…and the list goes on. The subconscious mind believes that smoking is a positive activity and will actively fight against and sabotage any efforts you make to quit.

Using hypnosis, it is possible to gently but effectively reprogram that
subconscious mind (in the same way that someone reprograms a computer). Getting rid of these beliefs that the subconscious mind is holding on to, allows the two parts of the mind to reach agreement that smoking is actually a bad habit, and then work together to ensure that the smoker can stop smoking without any internal conflict. This may well be the best way to quit smoking permanently, and this is the technique used here at “The Healthy Living Clinic”.