Hypnosis to quit smoking: what it can realistically offer

Hypnosis to quit smoking is often presented as a magic fix: one session and the urge is gone. Maybe a colleague swears that is how they stopped. Maybe you have tried everything else and are looking for another way. Before you book anything, you want to know whether it actually works.

I am a hypnotherapist in Bordeaux, trained in Ericksonian hypnosis, and I see people who want to stop smoking. I would rather start with what I will not promise you: that you will definitely stop, a success rate, a single session that sorts everything out. What hypnosis can do is more modest, and in my view more interesting.

Hypnosis for quitting smoking: what the research says

The most solid summary is a Cochrane review of hypnotherapy for smoking cessation. It brought together 14 trials and 1,926 participants. Only one of those trials was judged to be at low risk of bias. The authors' conclusion: we do not know whether hypnosis helps more than other forms of support or than quitting unaided, and if there is a benefit, it is small at most.

In France, the Inserm report on the effectiveness of hypnosis, written for the French Directorate General for Health, reaches the same view. It finds the data insufficient, even disappointing, for quitting smoking. Santé publique France, the national public health agency, lists hypnosis among the methods some people use but whose effectiveness is not recognised.

I could keep all this to myself. I would rather you knew before coming, because you deserve to choose with your eyes open.

Two nuances, though. In the same Cochrane review, when hypnosis is added to another form of support, the result leans in its favour across five studies and 224 participants, but the authors ask for caution because of the quality of those studies. And the review finds no evidence that hypnosis causes harm, even though few trials looked for it. If safety worries you, I go into it in more detail in my article on whether Ericksonian hypnosis is dangerous.

What a session can work on, and what it cannot do

Smoking is not only about nicotine. It is also a gesture, certain moments of the day, a break you allow yourself, a way of letting the pressure drop. What I often notice at my practice is that people know perfectly well why they want to stop. What makes them start again is the cigarette that goes with coffee, the car, an argument, the end of a heavy day.

That is where hypnosis makes sense to me:

• strengthening your own reasons for stopping, in your words rather than mine;
• unhooking the cigarette from the situations where it has become automatic;
• finding another way to calm yourself when tension builds;
• preparing for the moments you dread by living them first in your imagination.

What it cannot do is erase physical withdrawal. Nicotine dependence is real, and nicotine replacement is there for that. Hypnosis does not replace medical advice either. If you smoke heavily, if you have a heart or breathing problem, or if you are pregnant, start by talking to your doctor or a stop-smoking specialist.

I will not make you smoke less "against your will". In Ericksonian hypnosis you stay aware and in control. I cannot make you stop if you do not want to. I can help you do it if you do.

How a hypnosis session to stop smoking works

I only practise hypnosis at my practice, on rue Ducau in Bordeaux. Sophrology and coaching can be done by video call, hypnosis cannot: I need to be in the room with you.

Talking first

We start by talking, and this part matters as much as what follows. I ask how long you have smoked, how much, at what times, what you have already tried, and what happened the last time you started again. I also ask what smoking gives you. The question sometimes surprises people, but if we do not ask it, we do not know what to put in its place.

The hypnosis itself

You sit comfortably. I use my voice to guide you into a state of inward focus, a bit like being so absorbed in a book that you stop hearing what goes on around you. You hear everything, you can move, open your eyes, speak. We then work on what we identified together: a specific situation, an image of yourself without cigarettes, a resource of calm.

After the session

We take a few minutes to go back over what you experienced. I often give you a short self-hypnosis exercise to repeat at home. If you would like a clearer picture of how I use hypnosis in general, I have written about hypnosis for stress and about the situations where a hypnotherapist can help.

How many sessions, and what does it cost?

This is the question I am asked most, and I understand why: you read everywhere that "one session is enough". That is not how I work. For some people the decision is ripe and there are one or two moments of the day left to work on. For others, smoking holds up a whole balance in the face of stress, and it takes longer.

We take stock at the end of the first session. We decide together whether it is worth meeting again, and you are free to stop there. A hypnosis session lasts 1 hour and costs €80, like my other sessions; everything is on my pricing page. You pay for the session you have, nothing in advance.

Be wary of offers that promise you will quit for sure or refund you if you smoke again. The Inserm report points out that the title of hypnotherapist is not regulated in France and that training varies widely. Ask where the person trained. You will find my own background on my about page.

Hypnosis and nicotine replacement: you can combine them

You do not have to choose between hypnosis and the recognised aids. According to Santé publique France, the methods with established effectiveness are nicotine replacement (patches, gum, lozenges, spray), cognitive and behavioural psychological support, motivational interviewing and remote support. In France, nicotine replacement is reimbursed by the national health insurance when a doctor, dentist, midwife, physiotherapist or nurse recommends it to you.

There is also 39 89, the French Tabac info service helpline. It is free (apart from the cost of the call), open Monday to Saturday from 8am to 8pm, and the same stop-smoking specialist follows you throughout your attempt. I often suggest it alongside sessions.

In practice, I can easily picture someone wearing a patch for the physical withdrawal, calling their specialist once a week, and coming to my practice to work on the evening cigarette or the one that settles their nerves. Each has its role. It is also the only setting in which the Cochrane review sees a positive signal, however fragile.

An exercise to get through a craving

Tabac info service points out that a craving lasts only 2 to 3 minutes. The whole point is to let those few minutes pass. Here is what I suggest, mixing breathing with a little self-hypnosis. You can do it standing or sitting, at your desk or on a pavement.

The three minutes

1. Notice the craving. Simply tell yourself: "I want a cigarette, it will pass." Notice where you feel it: your throat, your hands, your chest.
2. Ground your feet. Feel the floor under your feet and the weight of your body. Let your shoulders drop as you breathe out.
3. Breathe into your belly. With one hand on your belly, breathe in through your nose and let your belly rise, then breathe out gently, a little longer than the in-breath. Three or four times, no harder than you need.
4. Change the picture. Think of a specific moment when you felt proud of not smoking, or picture tomorrow without cigarettes in one concrete detail: the smell of your clothes, your breath on the stairs.
5. Keep your hands busy. A glass of water, a pen, a stress ball. The gesture matters as much as the nicotine.

If you like the breathing part, you can go further with heart coherence breathing, which I explain step by step. And if stress is what pushes you towards a cigarette, my article on managing stress and emotions will give you other ideas.

Before you book

Stopping smoking changes a lot in the body, and sometimes in your mood. Talk to your doctor if you have a heart or breathing problem, if you are pregnant, if you take long-term medication, or if you went through a low patch during a previous attempt. They can adjust nicotine replacement and keep an eye on you. Hypnosis does not replace medical advice; it comes alongside it.

I spent years working in start-ups, right up to burnout, and I know what it is to allow yourself no break at all. For many of the people I work with, the cigarette is the only break in their day. I do not judge anyone. In sessions, that is what I try to understand with you, so that you still have a real moment for yourself once the cigarette has gone.

If you feel ready, I can see you for an Ericksonian hypnosis session in Bordeaux, at my practice on rue Ducau. You can also read how hypnosis for adults works before booking. And if you want to start today, call 39 89 if you are in France, and try the three-minute exercise at your next craving.