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Hypnosis and behaviour therapy in smoking cessation
361
DISCUSSION
The comparison of the three different measures of smoking behaviour showed a re-
markably similar pattern. Self-monitored smoking rates were lower than the estimated
smoking rates, but this may be expected due to the influence of the monitoring process
itself. Thiocyanate levels were found to correlate significantly with both the estimated
and monitored levels. While all three measures would appear to provide a reliable mea-
sure of smoking behaviour, the biochemical measures are likely to prove to be the most
reliable indicators of smoking behaviour.
The absolute thiocyanate levels provided a check on subjects who continued to
smoke, the levels accurately identifying two smokers who continued even though they
claimed to be smoking only one cigarette every 4 days.
An objective biochemical measure of smoking behaviour does provide for verifica-
tion of estimated and monitored smoking rates. It may be that the use of objective bio-
chemical measures of smoking behaviour motivates subjects to accurately record their
smoking habits. This is another reason that it is desirable to include these indices of
smoking behaviour in any smoking research.
220-.
200-
180-
160-
*
; 140-
1
E”
3 120-
5
2 loo-
-l
2
E
80-
:
:
f
lto-
40-
20-
Not Smoking
q
\t:
I
I
I
Pre
Post
Fig. 2. Thiocyanate levels at baseline and three-month follow-up for the hypnosis group,