What does it take a get a smoker to want to quit? One told me recently that there was no point telling her about the poisons in cigarettes. Nor would telling her how much money she could save influence her.

So what would influence her? Pressure from her children or from her partner? Children can be very persuasive. Or concerns about health? Doctors can be even more persuasive when they tell you to stop - or to expect a greatly reduced lifespan.

Of course, every smoker is different. Every smoker does it for a different reason - and the same goes for reasons to quit. But there can be few smokers unaware of the world closing in on them.

Researchers at the University of Aberdeen found recently that nearly nine out of 10 mouth, oesophagus and larynx cancers in the under-50s were caused by smoking tobacco, along with drinking too much and a poor diet. Just one of the reasons, no doubt, why ASH has called for a consultation on banning smoking in vehicles in Scotland. It's bad enough for adults to be harming themselves, without passing on the habit to their children.

Meanwhile, the Welsh medical chief has called for a widening of the existing smoking ban and one doctor has even called for a complete ban on parents smoking in their homes.

Even if money isn't a factor in stopping smoking - and in these straitened times, it perhaps ought to be - this seems like an excellent time for smokers to be thinking seriously about how they can stop smoking. And cognitive hypnotherapy is an excellent way of doing it.

Many smokers will have thought of trying stop smoking hypnotherapy, and many will have tried it - some successfully, some less so. But it really is worth considering cognitive hypnotherapy if you want to stop smoking.

Of course, cognitive hypnotherapy is not a magic wand. But what it does do is identify the reasons and motivations that are specific to you. I don't just read out a stop smoking script that is the same for everyone. As a cognitive hypnotherapist, I want to know what makes you tick - because it is only by getting to the heart of what motivates you, that I can help you in the most effective way possible. It's no good me telling you I would do in your place... I need to know what YOU need to do, and to help you to do it.

If this sounds like it make sense, and you are a smoker in south east London who wants to quit, take a look at my website, and find out more about how stop smoking hypnotherapy can help you to change your life...

www.nickjenkinshypnotherapy.co.uk