Smoking, vaping and how solution-focused hypnotherapy can help

There is a moment many smokers and vapers will recognise. You reach for the cigarette or vape without really thinking about it. Perhaps you're stressed. Maybe you're driving, having your morning coffee, stepping outside during a work break or finally sitting down after a long day. Sometimes, there isn't even an obvious reason. Your hand simply reaches for it.

Stopping smoking or vaping can feel difficult for many reasons. Nicotine dependence is real, but smoking and vaping can also become strongly connected with routines, emotions and learned behaviours.

You may genuinely want to stop while another part of your brain seems to say:

• "Just one more."
• "I'll stop next week."
• "I need it when I'm stressed."

Understanding what's happening in the brain and approaching change differently may help.

Smoking is declining, but nicotine hasn't disappeared

There is encouraging news in the UK. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), around 5.3 million UK adults – 10.6% of those aged 18 and over – smoked cigarettes in 2024, the lowest proportion recorded since the current data series began in 2011.

At the same time, approximately 5.4 million people aged 16 and over in Great Britain used an e-cigarette daily or occasionally in 2024. For the first time in this particular survey, e-cigarette use was higher than current cigarette smoking. This changing picture is important.

The NHS advises that vaping is less harmful than smoking and can help adults stop smoking. However, vaping is not completely risk-free and is not recommended for non-smokers or under-18s.

For somebody who currently smokes, switching completely to vaping can therefore be an important harm-reduction step. For someone who has already stopped smoking, becoming free from vaping and nicotine may eventually become their next goal.

Why can smoking feel as though it reduces stress?

Many smokers describe cigarettes as something that helps them relax. Imagine you've had a stressful morning. Your mind is racing, your shoulders are tense, and you've been rushing from one thing to another. You step outside, stop working and take a few slower breaths. For five minutes, nobody is asking anything of you.

Your brain may conclude: "That cigarette calmed me down." But some of the relief may also have come from stopping, changing your breathing and removing yourself from the stressful situation.

Nicotine dependence adds another layer. As nicotine levels fall, withdrawal can produce cravings, irritability, restlessness, anxiety and difficulty concentrating. Using nicotine again can temporarily relieve those feelings, reinforcing the association between stress, nicotine use and a sense of relief. Over time, that can become a powerful learned pattern.

Your brain loves repetition

Our brains are remarkably good at learning. Behaviours that are repeated frequently can become increasingly familiar and automatic:

• coffee = cigarette
• driving = vape
• stress = nicotine
• alcohol = cigarette
• work break = vape.

Eventually, you may barely notice the decision being made. Nicotine strengthens this process because it interacts with reward pathways in the brain, helping reinforce the desire to repeat the behaviour.

But there is an encouraging side to this. The brain is capable of learning new patterns too. Neuroplasticity describes the brain's ability to adapt and change in response to experience. It doesn't mean that changing an addiction is easy, but it does remind us that an established pattern doesn't necessarily have to remain a permanent one.

Instead of focusing entirely on "I must not smoke," it can be useful to consider: "What would I like to do instead?"

Where does solution-focused hypnotherapy fit in?

Solution-focused hypnotherapy combines solution-focused therapeutic conversation with hypnosis. Rather than repeatedly analysing every reason someone started smoking or vaping, the emphasis is generally placed on where they want to go next.

For example:

• What would being smoke-free allow you to do?
• How would you prefer to respond when you're stressed?
• What situations are most likely to trigger the old behaviour?
• What would feeling genuinely in control look like?

Hypnosis can then form part of this therapeutic process, encouraging focused attention, relaxation and mental rehearsal.

Hypnosis isn't mind control, and it doesn't mean somebody else can simply make you stop smoking. The person remains in control. Instead, hypnotherapy may help support the psychological and behavioural aspects of change by focusing attention on the desired outcome and alternative responses.

It's equally important to recognise that nicotine dependence has a physical component. Some people may benefit from combining psychological support with evidence-based stop-smoking treatments, nicotine replacement therapy, medication or NHS Stop Smoking Services.

What happens to your body when you stop smoking?

One of the most positive things about stopping smoking is how quickly the body begins to benefit.

According to NHS guidance:

• After around 20 minutes: your pulse rate starts returning towards normal.
• After around 8 hours: oxygen levels begin recovering and carbon monoxide levels in the blood fall.
• After around 48 hours: carbon monoxide levels have fallen to those of a non-smoker, the lungs begin clearing mucus, and taste and smell can start improving.
• After around 72 hours: breathing may begin to feel easier as the bronchial tubes relax and energy levels can start increasing.
• Within 2–12 weeks: circulation improves.
• Within 3–9 months: coughing, wheezing and breathing difficulties can improve, with lung function increasing by up to 10%.
• After one year: the risk of heart attack is around half that of somebody who continues to smoke.

The benefits continue over the longer term. After around 10 years, the risk of death from lung cancer falls to approximately half that of a smoker. After around 15 years, heart attack risk falls to approximately the same level as someone who has never smoked.

These statistics are powerful, but the everyday benefits can matter just as much. Walking upstairs without feeling as breathless. Enjoying food properly again. Feeling fresher. Having more energy. Not worrying about smoke on your clothes, hair, home or car. Not planning your day around your next cigarette.

And, of course, there is the financial benefit. Even putting aside an amount equivalent to what you previously spent on cigarettes can quickly make the benefits of stopping feel tangible.

What about stopping vaping?

Stopping vaping needs a slightly different approach. If somebody is using a vape to move away from cigarettes, it is important that stopping vaping doesn't lead them back to smoking.

The NHS recommends aiming to stop vaping once you feel confident you can do so without returning to cigarettes. This may include gradually reducing nicotine strength or increasing the time between vapes.

Vaping can also become particularly automatic because, unlike smoking one cigarette, there isn't always a clear beginning and end. A vape may sit beside someone while they're working, driving, watching television or scrolling on their phone. 

A useful question can therefore be: "When am I choosing to vape, and when am I doing it without even noticing?" Awareness of the pattern can be an important starting point for change.

What do I know now that I didn't know then?

If you've tried to stop before, it's easy to think "I've failed," but a previous attempt may have taught you something useful.

Perhaps you've discovered that work stress is a trigger. Maybe alcohol makes cigarettes more difficult to resist. Perhaps evenings are harder than mornings. Or maybe you've realised that trying to manage nicotine dependence without additional support wasn't right for you. Instead of asking: "Why couldn't I do it?" a more constructive question might be: "What do I know now that I didn't know then?"

In 2024, the ONS reported that 74.2% of people in Great Britain who had previously smoked regularly had now quit. People do stop – including people who have smoked for many years and people who have made several previous attempts.

Change doesn't have to come from shame, fear or criticism. Sometimes it begins with asking: "What could become possible if I stopped?" Better breathing. More energy. Improved long-term health. More money. Greater freedom. And perhaps the satisfaction of no longer organising part of your life around nicotine.

Solution-focused hypnotherapy may be one option for people interested in addressing the psychological and behavioural aspects of smoking or vaping. Other support is also available through GPs, pharmacists, NHS Stop Smoking Services and evidence-based stop-smoking treatments.

If you're considering stopping smoking or vaping, speaking to an appropriately qualified healthcare professional, stop-smoking adviser or hypnotherapist can help you explore the support that may be right for you.

Because stopping isn't only about what you're giving up. It can also be about what you're getting back.