Science Questions

I went to a hypnotist to stop smoking in the early 1980s and it worked for about a year. I went away on holiday and bought a packet of cheap cigarettes and that got me back onto smoking. Would it help if I went to a hypnotist again? Christina

The idea of being back on cigarettes just by smoking a bit is very common. I used to think that New Year celebrations were the most dangerous thing for recovering smokers because people have a few to drink and are in a smoky atmosphere. However, it is only one incident. You have proved that you can give up for a whole year and so I would have said that you should put that one cigarette behind you and start again. Slipping back into smoking is very common, but as you were so successful using hypnosis the first time, I would recommend that you try it again.

March 2005