A randomized trial comparing smoking cessation programs utilizing behaviour modification, health education or...

The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of hypnosis, health education, and behaviour modification programs for cigarette smoking cessation. A randomized clinical trial comparing these three programs and a control group was conducted in 168 volunteers. Follow-up data three weeks after completion was available in 140 subjects. Each program showed significant reductions in reported cigarette consumption and serum thiocyanate levels, an indicator of long-term cigarette consumption, compared to entry and to the control group. However, there were no significant differences between the hypnosis, health education, or behaviour modification groups with respect to the proportion who reported quitting smoking, the number cigarettes smoked or change in serum thiocyanate levels. Reported cigarette consumption ascertained six months later again showed no significant differences between these three approaches. Factors such as subject age, age at starting cigarette smoking, educational level, marital status, spouse or partners smoking did not identify subgroups with differences between treatment responses. Thus, hypnosis, health education, and behaviour modification are each effective programs for changing cigarette smoking and each is equally effective in this regard.