Are you a smoker? Do you want to quit? Do you believe in hypnosis? Tried patches and gum? If you answered yes to most of these questions then read on, otherwise you may be wasting your time.

This self help DVD comes from hypnosis guru Paul McKenna, renowned throughout the world for convincing people to do things they normally wouldn’t willingly do. He has predominantly made his name in America, the land of the psychic hotline and television evangelist networks. This is not to say he is of the same calibre as those shysters though, for all we know his technique may actually work.

Look deep into my eyes.

Now I must profess to be a smoker and a long term one at that. At this current point in time there is little desire to quit the habit even though public opinion is forever putting on the pressure. The one thing about smoking is that those who do tend to be more relaxed and therefore don’t care too much about public opinion. Having said that, there is a huge admiration for those who choose to quit and if you are one of those, good on you and hopefully this DVD will be of benefit to you. One other point of note is that there is a warning for those who suffer from epilepsy or clinical depression. These people are strongly urged not to watch.

Split into the two sections of Technique and Hypnosis, section one features Paul McKenna talking about the principles of hypnosis and the addiction to smoking. He goes into detail about what causes our bodies to become addicted to nicotine and how we can overcome that addiction. The second section is the one that needs to be watched repeatedly. It consists of a collection of videos of such things as trees and ocean waves accompanied by Paul McKenna’s encouraging words to help in the willpower process.

Whether this technique works or not is an individual matter. The simple fact is that it is an alternative to other remedies such as gum, patches and cold turkey so those desperate enough to kick the habit may wish to give it a go. As a smoker who is not currently ready to quit, this reviewer cannot attest to its effectiveness, but rest assured that if the desire ever arises to try this technique, this review will be updated accordingly.

Being originally released on video, this transfer is of about the same quality as its VHS counterpart. It is presented in full frame and is therefore not 16:9 enhanced. Picture is generally sharp throughout with decent colour quality. There are a couple of instances of edge enhancement and pixelisation but there are no signs of aliasing. Artefacts are also absent and there are no subtitles supplied.

Feeling very relaxed now.

Audio is supplied in English Dolby Digital stereo and, for this purpose, it is more than adequate. Dialogue is clear at all times and the ambient music is also clear. There are no problems with synch, hiss or dropout.

There are no extras supplied with this release.

As stated above, this is the type of release that may benefit some people but won’t work for all. The question is whether you want to take the risk and try it. If it does work for you then the purchase price is well worth it, but should it not work, the money spent could have bought you another couple of packets of cigarettes. Sceptics will bag the technique of hypnosis so if you doubt its ability to work then don’t waste your time. If you are openminded about such things then by all means give this a go, there is little to lose really.