Hypnosis for Smoking Relapse Prevention (HypnoRelapse)

University of California San Francisco (UCSF)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Smoking

Treatments: Behavioral: behavioral relapse prevention counseling; Other: hypnosis for relapse prevention

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT00770380

16RT-0074

18109-557309 (Other Identifier)

Details and patient eligibility

About

A majority of smokers who quit return to smoking within three months of their quit date. This study is a randomized trial to investigate the effectiveness of hypnosis versus behavioural counseling to promote maintenance of abstinence or relapse prevention in quitting smokers. The hypothesis is that hypnosis will be at least as effective as behavioral counseling in preventing relapse to smoking in smokers who are able to quit for at least three days.

Full description

We will enroll 520 current smokers in the study. All subjects will participate in an initial smoking cessation intervention involving brief counseling and nicotine replacement therapy. Participants who are able to achieve at least 3 consecutive days of abstinence will be randomized to one of two relapse prevention interventions. The participants in Study Arm 1 will receive a hypnosis intervention designed to facilitate relapse prevention. Participants in Study Arm 2 will participate in empirically-supported behavior relapse prevention counseling, utilizing the National Cancer Institute's Forever Free materials. Both interventions will be conducted in two 60-minute individual sessions scheduled one week apart in addition to counseling phone calls on their quit date and after relapse prevention treatment.

Outcomes for the two study arms will be compared by assessing biochemically-validated point-prevalence smoking status at 9 weeks(end of treatment), 26 weeks and 52 weeks. Hypnosis for relapse prevention is designed to sustain the ex-smokers commitment to remain abstinent, to provide a review of behavioral skills to resist the temptations to smoke, and to encourage attempts to quit again if relapse occurs.

Enrollment: 139 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 80 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• currently smoking at least 5/cigarettes per day during the past week
• willingness to participate and give informed consent
• aged 18 and above

Exclusion criteria

• contraindications to nicotine replacement
• pregnancy, lactation
• unstable psychiatric disorders
• current (last 3 months)substance use disorder
• terminal illness
• current use of smoking cessation medication

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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139 participants in 2 patient groups

Hypnosis for relapse prevention

Experimental group

Description:

The hypnosis intervention was conducted in two face-to-face visits with hypnosis recorded for home practice. Learning, practicing, and employing hypnotic skills in resisting the urge to smoke are core components of this intervention.

Treatment:

Other: hypnosis for relapse prevention

Behavioral relapse prevention counseling

Active Comparator group

Description:

In the behavioral relapse prevention counseling, participants were taught coping strategies for resisting the urge to smoke. This intervention focused on relapse prevention (i.e., maintenance stage of change) and was based on the theoretical concepts and treatment procedures advocated by Marlatt and Gordon and recent smoking relapse data.

Treatment:

Behavioral: behavioral relapse prevention counseling