WHAT'S DIFFERENT ABOUT OUR STOP SMOKING PROGRAM

Perhaps the major difference between the Anything But Cigarettes program and other stop smoking programs is that it was designed to be a comprehensive program.

When Mr. Pilon was originally approached almost 20 years ago and asked to develop a program that could be offered to the employees of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan, he reflected upon his personal experience of being not only a 20-year smoker, but also a 20-year quitter! "I used to say that I quit every night when I went to bed and started smoking again when I woke up in the morning. I really hated the feeling of not having control over such a nasty habit and was constantly trying different programs and ways of quitting." He had moderate success several times but also discovered what many smokers already know - that quitting was actually not the hard part - "staying quit" presented the major challenge.

While researching the statistical effectiveness of several smoking cessation programs/approaches, he discovered that:

• Success was generally measured at the one year point after quitting;
• "Single" approaches (behavior modification, hypnosis, acupuncture, nicotine replacement, aromatherapy, medications, just quitting cold turkey without the help of a program, etc.) have approximately the same success rate (20% - 30%);
• Few, if any, of the existing programs offered a combination of these approaches, though some research indicated a jump in effectiveness to approximately 70%. Other research showed a slight increase beyond 70% when some type of maintenance option was offered.

It was interesting to note that this was an effect that he had "stumbled" upon during his last attempt to quit himself. "I was attending a behavior modification program and decided to try and enhance my odds of success by listening to an old hypnosis tape that I had received from an earlier attempt to quit using hypnosis." This seemed to do the job for him - he hasn't smoked in over 18 years!

The result of Mr. Pilon's research combined with his personal experience led to the development of the highly successful Anything But Cigarettes comprehensive stop smoking program. The cognitive and behavior modification techniques are designed to address the smoking habit on a conscious level while the hypnosis addresses the problem on an unconscious level. The continued use of the techniques along with regular listening of the hypnosis recording provides not only an easy and effective way to stop smoking but the tools needed to "stay quit". The approaches used are well-established and based upon sound psychological principles of behavior, thought, emotions, and treatment techniques. The information provided is documented by intensive research and supported by the professional community.