October 2012 is the first 'Stoptober' - a new campaign to encourage people to quit smoking for 28 days - with the hope they will remain a non-smoker thereafter. It'll be interesting to see how many stay non-smokers long-term. Sadly ex-smokers can quite often return to smoking cigarettes after long periods of time. I recently saw a client who had stopped smoking 7 years ago and then thought she could smoke on one specific occasion and then go back to being a non-smoker. Unfortunately she was back to full-time smoking in no time at all. To go back to smoking after being an ex-smoker for so long is unusual, but I have met many people who have gone back to smoking cigarettes after 2 or 3 years, usually after believing that they could 'just have one or two' on a special occasion. The good news is that most people who quit for months and years do remain non-smokers.There are lots of statistics on the 'best' methods to break the habit. Willpower works for many and is the cheapest, but sometimes involves a bit of a struggle and a fair amount of grumpiness. Hypnosis requires you to be committed too, but most people find it a more comfortable way to quit and with better chances of success. Of course you have to really want it - see my news and articles page on this site - or it won't work. I spoke to a relative recently who said he was planning to quit, and I re-iterated an earlier offer of a free Quit 4 Life smoking cessation session. He replied, "But you said that it wouldn't work if deep down I like smoking and don't really want to stop" Doh! (I didn't say that to him). Do people think hypnosis is magic? It would be a bit scary - not to mention unethical - if a hypnotherapist could make you do something you didn't want to. Yeah, I know it looks like that on the telly...
So, it'll be an interesting month. The NHS will be doling out NRT (Nicotine Replacement Therapy) to all who want it - why would you want to continue putting nicotine in your system? - and hopefully many will give up tobacco for good. Interestingly, I have seen a noticeable increase in smoking cessation clients and enquiries in the last 2 or 3 months - more than the whole of last year, and that's without any special offers or promotions... Is that the recession beginning to really impact on people's 'routine' spending? Anyway, to get in the spirit of the thing, I am doing a special 4 week Stop Smoking with hypnotherapy offer, which is a 4 for 3 deal, saving you £75. This is a different approach to my normal one extra long Quit 4 Life session of 2+ hours and a self-hypnosis CD. This does works for most people - and really want to quit - but people sometimes expect to need more and like the idea of the ongoing support. So, if you are considering quitting by one method or another, best of luck - I wish you every success. Why wait until January 1st to make a change...
