The battle to beat the smoking habit is ongoing with many smokers who say they continue smoking not by choice but because they are addicted. A large part of this addiction arises from dependence on the nicotine delivered rapidly to the brain with each inhalation, says the health Charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash). And a report by the Royal College of Physicians concluded that nicotine is an addictive substance. Addiction does not make it impossible to stop doing something, it just means that there are powerful urges and needs that have to be overcome in order to do so. 
From nicotine patches to e-cigarettes, smokers are being inundated with options to help them kick the habit. Now, a nicotine inhaler which closely resembles a cigarette is the first product of its kind to be licensed as a medicine in the UK. The product, called Voke, is not electronic and could be provided on prescription to help people stop smoking. It is also the first device made by a tobacco company to be licensed. Ash warn that this could pave the way for e-cigarettes to be licensed too. A number of nicotine inhalers, sprays, patches and gums are already available on prescription as aids for stopping smoking, but this is the first device designed to imitate a cigarette which has been licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
But despite these ‘aids’, the nicotine addiction seems to continue unabated. However, hypnotherapists registered with the National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) can cure this addiction and, says the NCH, a physical addiction to cigarettes can be over after just one week while research shows that by quitting smoking with hypnosis people are three times more likely to give up than if they used nicotine patches.
The reason why hypnotherapy works so rapidly with bad habits and behaviours is because it works directly with the subconscious, bypassing the critical mind and getting to the root of the issue so that changes can be made quickly and efficiently.
Regarding Voke, a spokesperson from the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) said: “While supporting the need for all nicotine delivery devices to be regulated as medicines, given concerns about quality and the safety of long term use, EUPHA is concerned that the recent publicity given to these devices may divert attention from much more effective measures to reduce smoking such as standardised packaging and price rises.”
And no-one yet knows how safe e-cigarettes are although is consensus among medical experts that e-cigarettes are less harmful than smoking tobacco.
So, if you are serious about beating your smoking habit, hypnotherapy is the best route. After all, you are in control. You can change how you react to certain situations, and you can protect yourself in ways that are healthy and which allow you succeed and grow stronger in body and mind. You just need to know how to change it, and to believe you can.
Why not use the NCH directory to find a therapist near you and give it a go? You could beat the habit quicker than you would imagine is possible.
