A new study concludes that hypnotherapy is more effective than nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in getting hospitalized patients to quit smoking after discharge, Science Daily reported Oct. 24.

Researchers from North Shore Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital studied 67 patients hospitalized with cardiopulmonary diagnoses and found that those who underwent hypnotherapy were more likely to remain abstinent after six months than patients who used NRT or quit "cold turkey."

The study found that half of hypnotherapy patients had quit after six months -- as did half of those who received hypnotherapy and NRT -- but that the quit rate among NRT-only patients was just 15.8 percent, lower than the control group attempting to quit without any intervention.

"Hypnotherapy appears to be quite effective and a good modality to incorporate into a smoking cessation program after hospital discharge," said researcher Faysal Hasan, M.D., of North Shore Medical Center in Salem, Mass.

Researchers also found that cardiac patients were three times more likely to quit smoking than pulmonary patients.

The study was presented at Chest 2007, the 73rd annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians.