Hypnosis to stop smoking in the news . . . hypnosis: on count of 5, go forth and be smoke-free:

Thirty hard-core smokers crowded into a small ballroom at the Akron Road Quality Inn for two hours Tuesday night hoping that a hypnotist could help them break the habit. Some were thoroughly convinced that hypnosis would work. Others were skeptical but decided to try it anyway. It had to be better than a 3 a.m. hacking fit. Some prepared beforehand. One woman got rid of all the ashtrays, matches and extra cigarettes in her house. Others reluctantly signed up, urged to do so by loved ones sick of smelling stale smoke. All were nervous and had made previous attempts to quit. Jokes about smoking while wearing nicotine patches and chewing the foul-tasting gum were common. Just about everybody huddled around the hotel’s outdoor ashtrays, inhaling that one final cigarette before heading into new, smoke-free lives. “I got to quit smoking,” said Burton Terry, a 58-year-old from Pinnacle. “I’ve tried the pills, the gum and all that other stuff. I sure hope this works.” Just do it Gorayeb Seminars Inc. has been in business for years. The company’s founder, Ron Gorayeb, has been conducting behavior-modification programs since 1972. The back of the program’s workbook lists 17 trainers who travel the country. Gorayeb’s ads claim a “110% Seminar Guarantee.” If a customer isn’t completely satisfied, the ad says, he or she can get the $49.99 fee refunded, plus 10 percent. Nobody wants to go that route, though. If you’re spending the money, you must want to stop. And that’s the most important factor, says Dr. John Spangler, the director of the tobacco-intervention program at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. You have to really want to quit. To succeed, Spangler said, pick an exact date to stop. Quit completely. Using the patch or the gum can double your chances of success. Seek support. And write down the times when it’ll be the most difficult, and figure out a coping strategy. And, if you think that it will help, try hypnosis. If you think that a medical doctor at a respected hospital would equate hypnosis with sorcery, you’re wrong. “If you want to, why not?” Spangler said. “It’s a great idea to quit.” Time flies when … Trainer Larry Magenheim spent the first hour of the seminar reinforcing what participants already knew about the hazards of smoking and preparing them for hypnosis. “You won’t bark like a dog or cluck like a chicken,” said Magenheim, an animated man from New Jersey who bears a striking resemblance to Mr. Clean. Magenheim used some obvious psychological tricks, such as substituting images of pain for those associated with the pleasures of smoking. He stuck a Marlboro Light up his nose to make a point. He pitched some of his company’s other products – nutritional supplements and motivational CDs that weren’t mentioned in the newspaper ad – before calling for a break before the hypnosis. At 8:10, the room emptied, and the smoking lamp was lighted one last time. “I’m not too impressed yet,” said Stephen Angel, 35, of Winston-Salem. “I’m not fighting it, but I’m still skeptical. But I’m going to try. Fifty bucks is 50 bucks.” The group reassembled. At 8:30, Magenheim started. He told audience members to close their eyes. His soothing voice took people to personal paradises. The same voice told people to imagine the death of a child and associate that with smoking. Other suggestions were mixed into his monologue. Five, maybe 10 minutes seemed to pass before Magenheim counted to five and asked audience members to slowly open their eyes. It was 9 o’clock. A half-hour had passed, and 30 hopeful people spilled out into the hot summer night. As you’re reading this, it has been about 36 hours for me.

More and more companies are encouraging employees to give up smoking . . . healthcare costs directly related to smoking and productivity declines all lead to it becoming sensible corporate policy to get employees off the evil weed tobackie.

The US healthcare system has finally begun reimbursing for limited (very limited) hypnosis treatment.

Hypnosis can be helpful . . . and it does work. The approach described is not the one I would use, but then I don’t do many group sessions but concentrate on one-on-one hypnosis which tends to have a higher success rate.

You have to want to quit though. So, don’t email me for a session if it’s to please someone else . . . it has to be your idea. If it is and you truly wish to stop smoking, feel free to contact me for a series of in-person sessions.