Hypnosis and smoking

Men have a higher success rate when they try hypnosis to help them quit smoking rather than women.

Men have a higher success rate when they try hypnosis to help them quit smoking rather than women who use the same treatment, a new research reveals.

A review of 18 studies of hypnosis-based smoking cessation programs conducted by The Ohio State University has found that about 30 percent of men who used such a treatment successfully quit smoking, compared to 23 percent of women.

According to Joseph Green, associate professor of psychology at Ohio State University's Lima campus the reasons behind these revelations may have more to do with gender differences in quitting smoking in general than reasons associated with hypnosis

"My suspicion is that the gender differences are not unique to hypnosis, but are connected to difficulties women have in trying to quit smoking in general," Green said.

While reviewing the 18 studies, Green found that only three of them showed significant differences between success rates for men and women and in all three cases, men were more successful than women.

"But when I started combining participants across studies, a much clearer picture emerged in terms of a male advantage. When you have a 7 percent advantage for men, that is important, particularly when success rates after a year are often in the 20 to 30 percent range anyway," Green added.

Green believes that the reason women do not fare as well is because of gender differences in smoking cessation overall.

He also advises that hypnosis should be combined with cognitive behavioral strategies, an awareness of nutrition and exercise, and an avoidance of smoking triggers to help make smoking cessation successful.