Question from a client:  I have a friend who wants to quit smoking.  Will hypnosis work?

My response:

So many things to address with smoking or any addiction.

Hypnotism works for about 50% of the time.  Ericksonian Hypnosis has a higher rate of success.

It depends on how deep the addiction is and how long they have been smoking.  A person who smokes recreationally will have an easier time than a person who runs addiction patterns in their behavior in general.  If they have addictive patterns they can quit and take up another addiction that is more healthy.  I like NLP because it can help a person change the pattern of the addiction so they quit smoking and do not take up something else.  (although this is not a bad thing.  Say for instance, they take up saving money as an addiction.)

Quitting for good depends on where the person is on the scale of quitting.  If they are a 5 or 6 (the top), it will be easy for them to quit.  If they are 1-4, not much will work.

When a person is really ready to quit for good, it is a fairly easy process.  It is why I like to work with people who are at stage 5-6. 

I’ve done 6 step reframes with people who quit smoking in one session.  With alcohol addictions it took longer.

I prefer NLP or Ericksonian Hypnosis because it handles the deeper root of the addictive pattern.  In other words, no quick fix or answer.  Depends on the person and the addiction.  I’ve attached the article for help.

Also, I would be happy to have a conversation with your friend to explain all of this if they are willing.