New study is recruiting smokers who want to quit

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and the San Francisco VA Medical Center is recruiting men and women smokers, ages 18 and up, who want to quit.

The study will compare the effectiveness of hypnosis versus standard behavioral counseling in preventing relapse among smokers who have quit for at least three days.

Each subject will receive an initial smoking cessation intervention involving brief counseling and nicotine replacement therapy. Those who successfully quit for three days will be randomly assigned to either hypnosis or standard behavioral relapse prevention. Both groups will receive follow-up telephone counseling as well.

Study participants will be tested for tobacco abstinence through a simple saliva test at nine weeks, six months, and one year.

At the end of the study, smokers assigned to standard behavioral relapse prevention who have not successfully stayed off cigarettes for one year will be offered hypnosis therapy.

Eligible participants must be 18 or older, smoke at least five cigarettes per day, and be able to come to the San Francisco VA Medical Center in San Francisco for three one-hour appointments over the first few weeks of the study.

For further information, interested smokers should call (415) 221-4810, ext. 4432.