We are using a mixture of EFT, Emotional Freedom Techniques, or Tapping, and kinesiology-based muscle-testing and treatment. The treatment is gentle and removes the emotional reasons behind the smoking. As these are removed, Marcelle is able to smoke less. Every time that we can, we draw up a plan to cut down on the daily number of cigarettes smoked. The last target that Marcelle had was 7 cigarettes. It is the 10th session, and Marcelle showed me her progress sheet. She had stuck to her target 3 days out of 6. On one of the days, she even went below it. So we started with a quick analysis.

The first part of the analysis was talking about the progress sheet to identify areas that needed more work. The three days of smoking more had several stress and habit factors. The most important (in my experience) were the following:
* A visit to relatives who kept giving Marcelle cigarettes to smoke with them, saying “Oh, take a cigarette”.
* A day which started with Marcelle saying to herself “Today, I’m going to improve”.

Then I started the muscle-testing. We tested for a few things that came up not relevant, and then I asked Marcelle to repeat “I´m going to improve” whilst pressing on her arm. The arm went weak. In other words, there is something about “I am going to improve” that made Marcelle fail that day. We talked a bit about that and investigated the theme of the following ideas that Marcelle felt were related:
* “My mother never stops criticizing me, and so will not stop if I stop smoking, so what’s the point”.
* “I’m going to fail anyway, so I may as well fail now”.
* “No matter how much I improve, my mother will not love me”.

I then asked Marcelle to find a time in her life that encapsulates the above. She came up with a specific childhood memory that on the surface seemed totally unrelated. But it had many aspects of root causes of smoking. The story started when Marcelle had been given some money by a visiting uncle. The rule was that she had to hand that money over to her mother. But on that occasion, Marcelle, wanting to keep the money away from her abusive mother, left to the shop as soon as the uncle had left, and she bought a big bag of sweets with all the money. Upon her return, her mother threw her out on the porch in the dark. She was out there for several hours before her father came home and let her back in. The event started at an intensity of 8. We tapped in down to about a zero, tapping on all the following aspects:
* The hurt.
* That no matter what Marcelle did, she got a hiding from her mother, so she may as well be naughty anyway.
* The danger of being out alone in the dark as a helpless child.
* That she physically could not eat all those sweets, although she had them with her when she was thrown out, and her mother and sisters finished them afterwards.
* That her mother will never stop criticizing her.
* That her mother will never act proud of her or be approving of her.
* That her mother continues to treat her badly, in start contrast to the favored sister, who gets the good treatment.
* Smoking is a rebellion against her mother, who does not like her smoking.
* Guilt about not loving her mother like a daughter “should”.

By the end of this tapping, Marcelle was so relaxed she was almost asleep. We tested again for “I’m going to improve”, and it tested strong and clear.

We then tapped on other smoking issues, clearing them. And finally we muscle-tested for a new smoking reduction plan. Marcelle tested weak for 7 cigarettes a day and strong for 6 a day and 5 a day. This is good, meaning that she really did not want to smoke more than 6. So we drew up a new plan of a maximum of 6 a day.

The plan also includes exercise. As we were setting up the new version, Marcelle proudly announced that she had had to take her jeans in at the hips. Now how’s that for a great treatment? She is losing the cigarettes and weight! And she is overcoming the many years of abuse without any psychotherapy, without painful talking about the issue over and over again, nor anything like that. Every time she leaves her session, she feels lighter and stronger, her face radiant and calm. This is why I like this treatment so much; because it is holistic and gentle, the results far-reaching into every aspect of the person´s life and well-being. Now who do you know who did hypnosis-only and got these great additional results?! As always, I look forward to the next session!

© Suzanne Zacharia 2011. My name is Suzanne Zacharia and I am committed to spreading the word about health options. I believe that the more and better options one has, the more choice there is.

A virus caught along with 5 other students at university at the end of 1986, plus medical negligence, meant that I got smokers lung at a relatively young age. In desperation for help with my symptoms and quality of life, I turned to complementary therapy, and I have outlived one doctor’s prognosis by many years now.

I am now a complementary therapist, author of the Stop Smoking E-book at http://www.stop-smoking-ebooks.com and trainer specializing in energy healing. Want to use this article? You can, as long as you credit me with it and invite your readers to get my FREE book “EFT How-To For You” at http://www.EFT-Scripts.com

Clearly this was a PR exercise that failed. But the point is, most people do not associate athletics with smoking. Just like you would not associate healthy living with smoking. Put it this way, if you were to choose a new doctor, would you feel confident choosing a doctor who smokes? If you were to visit a hypnotherapist, would you feel assured of the outcome with a hypnotist who smoked?

Although smacking of Big Brother, it does actually make sense to stop smoking in restaurants and bars, I have just come to Cape Town in South Africa from London in the UK. In Cape Town, smoking is allowed in bars and restaurants. Some restaurants make an attempt to make a non-smoking section, the rare coffee bar is non-smoking, but most bars and restaurants frankly stink. In London, smoking was banned in all public places last year, and it is a pleasure now to go out for a drink or a meal. There was initially much worry about going smoke-free. Businesses were worried about losing custom. However, in the UK most people are non-smokers now, and so this was a great deal easier.

And despite the health risks, in Cape Town, just like Beijing, there is a need for a drug. Nicotine happens to be a perfect drug. It calms you when you need calming, wakes you when you need to be alert, is easily delivered into the body, and is legally available.

Smoking is a coping mechanism. Smoking takes the not-Fun out of life and the smoker is left with Fun. Smoking takes the not-Happy out of life so the smoker is left with Happy. Without smoking, the smoker is faced with a great deal of not-Fun and not-Happy, and life is very grim indeed. People need to be healthy. However, they also need to be happy. Sometimes being happy is more important than being healthy. Why should it matter if you die early of cancer or a heart attack, if you have lived a happy life? And who actually wants to live a long and miserable life?

This is why nicotine replacement and various wonder pills alone fail. When the smoker is given ways to be naturally happy, such as with EFT, hypnosis, or meditation, then they can finally be calmly free from smoking. And when a nation is healed, when it becomes stronger from within, you get smoke-free restaurants. It really is a holistic matter.

China has a great deal of trauma from the past, as does Cape Town. The pain of the people needs the balm of nicotine. I sincerely hope that one day, this pain will release. With this release, there will no longer be a need for cigarettes. And then China can rest assured that its bars and restaurants will be smoke-free.

Suzanne Zacharia

Author and Stop Smoking Expert