Hypnotherapy when used to quit smoking is more likely to be effective for men than women.
A research project that reviewed 18 separate studies of hypnosis based quit smoking programs has found that around 30 percent of men who used such a treatment successfully quit smoking, compared to 23 percent of women.
But the reasons may have more to do with gender differences in quitting smoking in general than reasons associated with hypnosis, said Joseph Green, associate professor of psychology at Ohio State University’s Lima campus.
“My suspicion is that the gender differences are not unique to hypnosis, but are connected to difficulties women have in trying to quit smoking in general,” Green said.
Green reviewed 18 previous studies of hypnosis-based smoking cessation programs, all of which examined gender differences in success. The 18 studies included more than 5,600 participants.
Of those 18 studies, only three of them found significant differences between success rates for men and women. In all three cases, men were more successful than women.
“But when I started combining participants across studies, a much clearer picture emerged in terms of a male advantage,” Green said. “When you have a 7 percent advantage for men, that is important, particularly when success rates after a year are often in the 20 to 30 percent range anyway.”
None of the studies Green reviewed examined why hypnosis worked better for men than women. But Green said research has not shown any real difference between men and women in their ability to be hypnotized. If anything, women may have a very slight advantage in hypnotizability, he said, so that shouldn't’t be an issue.
“There’s no theoretical reason why hypnosis should work better for men than women in smoking cessation,” according to Green.
Because of that, Green said he believes the reason women do not fare as well is because of gender differences in smoking cessation overall. While there is some controversy, Green said many experts do believe that women have a harder time than men quitting smoking. One reason may be that nicotine replacement therapy (such as nicotine gum or patch) is not as effective for women as it is men. Experts also say women are concerned with weight gain associated with stopping smoking, so they are more reluctant to quit or may relapse if they experience weight gain.