Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

I couldn’t believe how excited my friend Sandy was.

She called me one Saturday afternoon after having spent one hour with a hypnotist, and now – for the first time in 15 years – she had no desire to light up a cigarette.

Of course, she knew this was a far cry from “quitting,” but this first step was deeply encouraging because it gave her a glimpse of something she was beginning to think she might never see: a life without cigarette addiction.

Soon after her first session, Sandy’s hypnotist was called out of town indefinitely to care for a family member who had become ill, so without a series of follow up sessions Sandy soon began smoking again. She’s now making plans to give hypnotherapy another try.

A new study shows what might be in store for her when she gets that therapy back on the rails.

Suggestions and patchwork

Last month, at the annual scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians, researchers from the North Shore Medical Center in Massachusetts presented the results of a 26-week intervention study that compared different smoking cessation techniques.

The North Shore team recruited nearly 70 smokers who had been treated for cardiopulmonary conditions – that is, conditions that affect both the heart and lungs simultaneously. All of the subjects expressed a desire to quit smoking.

Subjects were divided into four groups:

• One group received a series of hypnotherapy sessions
• One group received nicotine replacement
• One group received nicotine replacement combined with hypnotherapy
• One group was made up of subjects who said they preferred to quit on their own, “cold turkey”

In that latter group, one in four subjects successfully quit smoking, while only 16 percent kicked their habit in the group that received only nicotine replacement. In both of the other groups, about half the subjects were able to leave cigarettes behind.

Gratification delayed

The North Shore study hasn’t been published yet, and all of the reports I’ve seen about this study neglect to mention exactly what method of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) was used. Nicotine gum and the nicotine patch are the two most obvious choices, but smokers need to know that both of these treatments should be regarded as medications.

According to drugs.com, Nicorette gum may interact with other drugs, and potential side effects include diarrhea, dizziness, joint and muscle pain, rash, swelling of the face, and “burning at the application site.” Application site? That would bethe tongue?

Meanwhile, the nicotine patch, which is called a “medication” by MedicineNet, also may interact with other drugs, and lists side effects similar to the gum, along with breathing difficulties, chest pain, and irregular heartbeat.

In the e-Alert “Tool Time” (8/17/05), I told you about two botanicals that can help smokers quit, with or without hypnotherapy – no medication necessary.

Lobelia is an herb that contains a substance called lobeline, which has a chemical structure similar to nicotine, but is non-addictive. An HSI member named Noel sent us an e-mail with this description of how lobelia works: “Using Lobelia and N-acetylcysteine (NAC), the neurotransmitters are calmed until the body begins to produce the N- acetylcysteine again, which is about a 45 day process.” As I’ve noted in other e-Alerts, NAC is an invaluable amino acid that enhances the production of glutathione, one of the body’s most powerful antioxidant enzymes.

More than 15 years ago, Dr. Mary Cody, a physician and researcher, found that a botanical called Plantago Major creates a natural aversion to tobacco when inhaled or ingested. In a 1992 study, 24 heavy smokers were given Plantago Major tincture in a nasal spray and then instructed to smoke. More than 80 percent of the subjects reported an aversion to tobacco shortly after receiving the dose. This effect lasted as long as 24 hours for some of the subjects.

Dr. Cody’s Plantago Major formula was patented shortly after that trial and is now available as a product called CIG-NO. Unlike nicotine patches or nicotine gum, which deliver the exact chemical you’re trying to avoid, CIG-NO (which is sprayed under the tongue) creates an almost immediate reduction in cigarette cravings, with no reported side effects. You can find more information at cigno.com.

Source:
“Want To Quit Smoking? Try Hypnosis” Ivanhoe Newswire, 10/24/07, ivanhoe.com