How to Quit Smoking

A method so easy you can sleep through it

Comments (0) By Wynter Holden Thursday, Jan 18 2007

Now that Proposition 201 has passed, you're paying 82 cents more per pack and counting the days until you're forced outside in the scorching summer heat for an after-dinner puff. It's resolution time again, and this year we're suggesting you take the easy way out. A 1992 study conducted by the University of Iowa named hypnosis as the most effective method for quitting. "It's not a magic cure," says board-certified hypnotherapist Janna Skinner. "Part of the success rate has to do with commitment level." Skinner, who trained at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, guides clients through visual exercises and dialogues, and replaces the physical action of smoking with a healthier habit like jogging or drinking a glass of water. She prefers this technique to aversion therapy in which a negative image is associated with smoking. Vipers biting out your eyes. Being buried alive. "I don't think dredging up painful things is productive," says Skinner. Aversion therapy can cause unfortunate side effects, like vomiting every time you try to light up. But hey, it beats ashy skin and black lungs.