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5, 4, 3, 2, 1 – you're cured!

Cutting down from 25 cigarettes a day to just 12 was hard work for Lichfield Mercury reporter Alistair Harris – but it was still 12 too many.

Gum, lozenges and inhalers weren’t going to help wipe out the cravings – so he decided to go further…

He signed up with hypnotherapist Paul Russell to help cut out the habit that was costing £1,300 a year and helping to kill him into the bargain.

Alistair said he was surprised to find he could still smoke his usual 12-a-day for the next week – but he wasn’t allowed to smoke his usual Bensons.

He said: “I had to swap my brand each day, to taste the different chemicals the companies use to attract you to their brand.

“As well as this, I had to reduce the number of drags I took by one each day. So for the rest of that Friday, I could take nine drags. On Saturday, eight. Sunday, seven and so on.

“These changes are designed to remove the subconscious act of smoking. After your body gets used to the routine and the habitual hand to mouth co-ordination, the act of smoking is stored safely away in your subconscious.

“By asking me to swap brands and take fewer puffs, Paul aimed to bring smoking out of my subconscious and back into my conscious mind, where I could then take control of the habit.”

Along with those changes, Alistair also had to stop smoking where he usually would. At home, he had to go into the garden to enjoy a smoke. At work, he was not allowed to smoke outside the back door, where he would usually hide away – with a cup of coffee.

He said: “For the last 24 hours, I had to use a jar half-filled with water as an ashtray. I learned later that I was to sniff the jar every morning, to remind me of the putrid stench that cigarettes exude.”

The first seven days flew by, and Alistair adjusted to the modifications. No cravings, not always finishing his cigarette and even cutting down on his cigarettes to only five or six that weekend.

The second week saw Paul put him into a state of ‘hypnosis’, although he still felt totally conscious throughout the half-hour session.

He said: “Paul used reinforcement techniques to hammer the anti-tobacco message into my subconscious, telling me how to react when faced with the offer of a cigarette, and how to combat a rise in stress.

“With a simple countdown from ten, I awoke, feeling tingly and refreshed and ready to become a non-smoker.

“I got home, and was immediately faced with my first challenge, an almost full packet of cigarettes on my bedroom table.

“I threw them away, but I struggled through the rest of the day. To be perfectly honest, I have craved nicotine since my last cigarette on Friday, January 17. But, so far, I haven’t succumbed, and I don’t think I will.”

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