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Smoking and its effects on health
It is estimated that approximately 13 million Britons smoke. Among these smokers, two thirds of them would like to stop smoking, which indicates that most of them are aware of the dangers of smoking and of its negative effects.
We will never emphasize it enough: smoking is dangerous for health. Smoking kills. In Great Britain, one person dies as a result of smoking every 15 minutes, and smoking kills more than suicide, Aids and road accidents every year.
The consequences of smoking are alarming: 80% of lung cancer deaths and obstructive lung diseases are due to smoking, and at least one quarter of the 120,000 deaths per year caused by smoking are from lung disease.
Why do smokers still smoke?
Most of smokers are well aware of these statistics and the negative effects of their smoking habit. However most of them keep smoking, for two major reasons.
The first reason is purely physiological. The body gets used to the nicotine and wants to maintain that nicotine level. This is usually known as addiction or craving.
The second reason is psychological. Very often, smokers argue that smoking helps them to relax and to cope with stressful events more easily. The cigarette typically works as a placebo, since the truth is that smoking increases the level of stress by maintaining the body in a constant state of alertness. This is the well known " fight or flight " response that is naturally triggered when we feel in danger. This defence mechanism stops when the danger is gone, but smoking keeps the body in this " fight or flight " mode, with the result that the immune system is unable to function normally. Some smokers admit being easily stressed and those same smokers try to decrease their stress level - typically by smoking further cigarettes.
Stopping smoking with hypnosis
The British Medical Association has acknowledged the use of hypnosis as the most effective method of treating smoking addiction.
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