The Effect of Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) in Smokers Failing a Smoking Cessation Program

April 22, 2026 updated by: Dawson Church, Soul Medicine Institute

The Effect of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) in Smokers Failing a Smoking Cessation Program

The National Health Service (NHS) stop smoking service at the Central Lancashire NHS Trust serves a diverse population of smokers, with a very good quit rate and high standards. However, clinical experience predicts that some clients are unlikely to succeed through the NHS smoking cessation program. This special population has difficulty quitting for a variety of reasons. Some relapse over the course of the following two years and return repeatedly to the service. Others, for instance those with health problems, may be highly motivated to quit, but unable to resist their cravings. The purpose of this study is to determine if EFT makes a difference in quit rates with the most challenging population of clients.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

40

Phase

  • Early Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United Kingdom
    • Lancashire
      • Ormskirk, Lancashire, United Kingdom, L39 2JW
        • Recruiting
        • NHS Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Joan Draper, LPC
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

12 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • High anxiety related to the quit attempt
  • Cravings which sabotage the quit attempt
  • Low confidence at their ability to quit and remain quit

Exclusion Criteria:

  • None, all NHS clients are eligible

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: CBT
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Behavioral: CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
CBT is a behavioral intervention that seeks to challenge and change negative client cognitions about events and life circumstances.
Experimental: EFT
Emotional Freedom Techniques, a novel but efficacious stress-reduction technique
Behavioral: EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques)
EFT is a brief but efficacious stress-reduction intervention. It combines exposure, cognitive structuring, and somatic stimulation.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Quit rate
Time Frame: treatment period
treatment period

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Psychological symptoms and physiological symptoms
Time Frame: Three, 6, and 12 months after intervention
Symptoms and smoking 3, 6 and 12 months post-intervention
Three, 6, and 12 months after intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Soul Medicine Institute

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Dawson Church, PhD, Soul Medicine Institute

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

September 20, 2009

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 31, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 19, 2009

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 21, 2009

First Posted (Estimated)

September 22, 2009

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 22, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • SMI-SMO-92509

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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