Nicotine chewing gum, lozenges and inhalers designed to help people to give up smoking may have the potential to cause cancer, research has suggested.

Scientists have discovered a link between mouth cancer and exposure to nicotine, which may indicate that using oral nicotine replacement therapies for long periods could contribute to a raised risk of the disease. A study led by Muy-Teck Teh, of Queen Mary, University of London, has found that the effects of a genetic mutation that is common in mouth cancer can be worsened by nicotine in the levels that are typically found in smoking cessation products.

Full article: Times Online, 22nd April 2009

The National Council for Hypnotherapy website has picked up the story, and confirms that Hypnotherapy is a safe alternative for people worried about nicotine replacement therapy which studies suggest is more than twice as effective too.

Hypnotherapy was proven to be the best method of stopping smoking by a meta analysis of almost 72,000 subjects conducted at University of Iowa by Viswesvaran & Schmidt (1992), reported in New Scientist (1992 – Volume 136, Issue 1845, Page 6).

Their findings were as a result of an in-depth study of all methods of stopping smoking, and showed that Hypnotherapy in general is up to five times more effective than willpower alone and more than twice as effective compared with nicotine gum.