We all have habits. Some habits are so well ingrained that they feel like they are part of us. Trying to change a habit can cause disruption and personal distress.

If you are a smoker, it can feel as though your habit is here to stay. Giving up smoking can feel like an impossible task. Even terrifying statistics don’t seem enough to motivate you to quit. For example, it is common knowledge that:

• About half of all smokers will die as a result of their habit

• Smokers in their 30s and 40s have five times the amount of heart attacks

• 40 cigarettes a day costs approximately £8000 per year.

When many smokers read facts like these, their first reaction is not to give up but to light up! How can this be?

Everyone knows that the drug nicotine makes smoking addictive. This is not the real reason that smoking is hard to give up. Kicking nicotine addiction is about as unpleasant as having a cold, and after less than three weeks the addiction to nicotine is over. Most smokers have given up for more than three weeks – and then started again. Why does this happen?

Smoking is habit-forming – the nagging need for nicotine gives us hundreds of little triggers that remind us it is time to have another cigarette. When the addiction has gone, these triggers remain. It is these triggers – and the cravings they cause – that make quitting forever so difficult. This is also why people who try using nicotine gum or patches still crave a cigarette.

Some common triggers are: stress, tea breaks and social drinking. Heavier smokers have triggers like answering the phone or getting in a car. It is habit that connects these activities with having a cigarette.

Hypnosis can break the connection, removing the trigger that leads to the craving. This is why Hypnosis has been proven to be the most effective anti-smoking treatment available – it directly addresses the psychological triggers and cravings that make quitting difficult.

If you really want to give up smoking, then Hypnosis is the answer. The treatment, which lasts two hours, is a calming, relaxing and empowering experience. 

To book a Hypnotherapy appointment in New Malden, phone 020 8942 3148 or email [email protected]

Aston Clinic London is a third-generation complementary health clinic based in New Malden and serves the local areas of Kingston, Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Surbiton, Chessington, Worcester Park, Sutton and other areas of southwest London and Surrey