Many hypnotists work with smokers for stop-smoking sessions as part of their bread and butter work. The issue is problematic in that in order to be successful stopping smoking with the aid of hypnosis, one already has to have a real desire to quite. If you’re seeing a hypnotherapist to stop smoking because you want your wife to get off your back or because a doctor told you it would be a good idea . . . it won’t do you any real good unless YOU want to stop.

Well, here’s more fuel for the stop smoking fire . . . a recent study has shown that Smoking ‘is bad for your brain’ . . . yes, you read that right.

More research has been published linking smoking to health risks – with a study suggesting the habit affects IQ Researchers from the Universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh looked at how the cognitive abilities of smokers and non-smokers changed over time. They found smokers performed significantly worse in five separate tests.

The research, part of the Scottish Mental Health Survey, is published in New Scientist magazine and the specifics are quite interesting as this is a longitudinal study that shows definate real life long term loss in intellectual ability for smokers over time.

Around 465 people were tested on their mental abilities in 1947 when they were aged 11. They were then tested a second time between 2002 and 2002, when they reached the age of 64. On this occasion they underwent tests to evaluate their non-verbal reasoning, memory and learning, how quickly they processed information, decisions about how to act in particular circumstances and construction tasks. Current or former smokers were found to perform less well in the tests even after factors such as childhood IQ, education, occupation and alcohol consumption were taken into account.

It seems that former smokers fare a little better than current smokers, so giving up smoking does seem to halt or at least slow the intellectual fallout:

The effect appeared to be stronger in current smokers according to the study, which was also published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.

In addition to the effect of smoking in and of itself, the researchers also found increased negative effect caused by smoking linked to impaired lung function, itself linked to smoking. Impaired lung function has already been signposted for damaging thinking processes but the mechanism is still not clear, although it is present.

It has been suggested in previous studies that there could be a link between impaired lung function and a negative effect on the thinking processes, but it is not clear what the mechanism for that might be.

Dr Lawrence Whalley of the University of Aberdeen, who led the research, said the explanation could be that smoking causes oxidative stress – cumulative damage caused by molecules called "free radicals" – to organs including the brain. "Ageing neurons are very sensitive to oxidative damage." Writing in Addictive Behaviors, Dr Whalley added: "The harmful effects of smoking on lung function are well established." But he said the detrimental effect on cognition could be due to be attributable to poor heart and lung function affecting the brain, or directly harmful effects of smoking on brain – as well as lung – tissue.

Some people actually believe that smoking helps them concentrate, helps them think better . . . my first year teaching at the university, one of my female students wrote that sentiment in one of her compositions. Guess what? She was wrong . . . big time.

Amanda Sandford, of the group Action on Smoking and Health said: "It would appear that the well-worn cliché that ‘smoking stunts your growth’ may be true when it comes to intellectual development. "Contrary to what many people commonly believe – that smoking may help brain function, it is in fact more likely to wreak havoc with brain cells and IQ. "Any teenager tempted to smoke should heed the message that it really is dumb to take up this noxious habit."

Perhaps a few hypnotists will see more folks coming to them now, hoping to quit the habit . . . before it destroys their health and their brain cells. Or, given the number of smokers in the world, most of whom already know the dangerous effects smoking has on their health (see Smoking Killing Millions Globally, Global Warning on Smoking, and Passive Smoking Threat Underlined) . . . perhaps, not.

Do you really want to kill yourself and your loved ones? Stop smoking . . . through any means you can. Hypnosis or not. If you are in Taiwan and wish to use hypnosis to stop-smoking, in addition to myself, there are plenty of good folks listed here who can help you.