Mass hypnosis to quit smoking

JANUARY is the month of best intentions: losing weight, cutting back on the booze, going to the gym and giving up smoking.

Last weekend 400 people in Pau attempted the latter, taking part in a collective hypnosis session in the auditorium of the Palais Beaumont.

Hypnotists Jean-Charles Dupet and Erick Fearson led the session which included two hours of explanations of tobacco addiction and the obstacles to giving up smoking and a 30-minute relaxation and hypnosis session.

Mr Dupet said physical addiction only represented 5% of the factors that prevent people from giving up cigarettes.

“The difficulty in stopping is a feeling sustained by friends and family, anti-tobacco groups, non-smokers, pharmaceutical manufacturers and smokers themselves,” he said.

“Hypnosis works best among those who have the capacity to do sums quickly, among those people who are sensitive to art, or more generally those who can easily visualise images,” he said.

He added that it takes at least 21 days to see the effects of a session of hypnosis.

Photo: Jose Roco