Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1895-05-21
CURED BY HYPNOTTsM.
Tobacco Smokers Some times Yield
20 the Power of Suggestion.
slaves TO the Habit for Nearly Half q
Century succumb 60 tho Magic
influence of a Manipula-
tor OF Men.

Hypnotic lnnuenco Hay po Hiduc 10
serve innumerable uses. Among the
very latest is that of taking away the
haste for smoking. All confirmed smok-
ers know what absolute suffering is in
volved in an attempt to forego the cigar.
pine and cigarette. They may, there
fore. be relied upon to take peculiar in
terest in two cases recently treated by
a specialist abroad, the details of which
90 to prove that If a man desires to rid
himself of the smokers habit and other
methods fail hypnotic suggestion" is
capable of achieving the desired result.
The first case, says the New York
Herald, is that of a smoker sixty-three
years old, who was slave to tobacco.
He began the habit at sixteen, and con-
seven years. He lit up as soon as he
awoke in the morning, and until he fell
asleep at night there were few intervals
in which he was not vigorously engaged
In blowinga cloud He had made some
attempts during recent years to moder-
ate his passion for tobacco, but without
success. The warnings of his physicians
were in vain.
They went so far as to tell him that
he was showing symptoms OF lesion
of the stomach, which might turn into
a cancer, and that this was due simply
to his abuse of the weed. They also
promised him complete cure if he
would only stop smoking. But it was
of no use. After making one or two
Intellectual attempts he resigned him
self to the inevitable, and smoked more
obstinately than ever.
AT this stage the hypnotizer-tha ma
gician of modern medicine-appeared
on the scene. He offered to try the
effects of suggestion. After some hest
tation, the smoker consented. He be-
Aieved himself a doomed man, but he
was willing to give this last chance of
salvation trial.
The doctor held up the index finger
of his left hand. In less than three
minutes the patient was fully hypno-
TIED Then the suggestion was made
to him: "Your desire for smoking no
longer exists. From this moment you
will not give another thought to to-
bacco. You will smoke no more cigars,
cigarettes or pipes. You will refuse all
tobacco, cigars or cigarettes that may
be offered you by your friends. To-
bacco will disgust you"
The patient joyously announced the
next day that he had not smoked since,
and that he had no desire to do so.
ITO ascertain" said the doctor, in his
account of the treatment, whether he
was resolved, in accordance with the
suggestion of the day before, to refuse
any offer of tobacco made to him by
another person, took box of cigar
cites out of my pocket and offered him
one. He gave decided refusal.
begged him to try to smoke, but he
would not. Then lit cigarette in
his presence, and, leaving the open box
in front of him, went on to talk OF
other matters, but he did not make a
single alusion to tobacco. He seemed
to have forgotten all /, oout it,"
A friend called f1w days later to
see the former smoker, and, knowing
nothing of what had taken place, Of
fered him a cigar. 1t was at once re-
fused, and further the hypnotic subject
proceeded, much to the others aston
ishment, to make present to his friend
of all his own remaining cigars, de-
claring that he could no longer bear
the sight of them. The doctor con-
cludes the history of the case by saying
that the cure has been permanent
The other instance of this novel use
of the power of suggestion varied in
some interesting details from the first.
The patient was man of forty-six,
who was an inveterate cigarette smoker.
He had begun when fourteen years old
and smoked on an average of twenty
cigarettes day. He felt that his
health was suffering, and last October
he was hypnotized at his own request.
The suggestion made to him while in
tie hypnotic state was:
Your desire for smoking has dis
appeared. You will smoke no more
cigars or cigarettes, and will accept
none from others. If you try to smoke
q cigarette you will be ILL.,"
The hypnotism took place in the
morning. The same afternoon the pa
tient felt desire to smoke. No sooner
did he try to do so than he was affect
ed with feeling of nausea and with
construction of the throat. He was
obliged to throw away the cigarette,
which he had only just lighted.
He made no further attempt to smoke
that evening, but the following day he
tried ON three occasions, and each time
with the same unpleasant consequences.
So far the suggestion had only par
tally influenced him. The next day
the third-it ceased to influence him at
ali, and he was able to smoke again as
comfortably as ever.
Forthwith he was hypnotized again,
and the first suggestion was repeated.
The result of the second attempt was
all that could be desired, for from that
time to the present the patient has not
smoked.
Thrifty Prince.
E.ara.o- W;1l;a,,fo l;Htla soma in