Read the clock as well as the result
These are different research questions, not a timetable or instructions for practice.
| Evidence | What was compared or measured | What it cannot establish |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 muscle-relaxation trial | One session versus control activity; immediate craving scores | Abstinence months later |
| 2026 breathing review | First post-training craving measurement; mixed substances and designs | A nicotine quit rate or a 30% reduction |
| 2022 six-month trial | Counselling plus breathing versus counselling; defined smoking outcomes | Benefit from improvement within either group alone |
Which problem is the programme meant to address?
‘Relaxation’ can mean a muscle-focused technique, a breathing programme or breathing guided by feedback about heart-rate variation. A person may be asking about feeling tense during a work break; a study may instead ask whether craving scores change after a supervised session. Neither question is identical to whether smoking stops for months.
Imagine a fictional reader who says, ‘I felt calmer after the session, but still wanted a cigarette.’ Those two observations can coexist. Feeling calmer, craving less, smoking fewer cigarettes and meeting a study's abstinence definition are separate outcomes. A programme should say which it studied rather than treating every favourable change as proof of quitting.
There is a short-term signal, with important limits
A small 2015 randomized trial in Bangkok compared one progressive muscle-relaxation session with an activity such as reading a newspaper in 32 smokers temporarily abstaining. Craving and withdrawal scores were lower immediately afterwards in the relaxation group, including analyses adjusting for some baseline differences. This was an acute before-and-after-session question, not a test of six-month abstinence; the small sample and baseline imbalances limit confidence.
A 2026 breathing and heart-rate-variability biofeedback review searched through November 2025. Its 20 studies included 1,249 people, but only six studies concerned nicotine; others concerned alcohol or other drugs. The craving analysis of 12 studies and 696 people found a small favourable standardized difference, Hedges' g 0.30 (95% confidence interval 0.12–0.48), with low-certainty evidence. This is not a 30% reduction or a quit rate. It used the first measurement after training ended, mixing single sessions and longer programmes. Mixed randomized and nonrandomized designs, differing settings and limited long-term follow-up prevent a confident nicotine-specific lasting-quitting conclusion. The review also reports that one cluster trial could not be adjusted for clustering, potentially overstating its precision.
A study can find improvement without an added quitting benefit
In a 2022 cluster-randomized trial, 43 participants from eight Bangkok-area companies received counselling for 12 weeks; one group also received a three-part breathing programme. Six-month smoking outcomes included seven-day point-prevalence and continuous abstinence, checked with saliva cotinine. The public abstract reports no statistically significant between-group difference in abstinence.
Both groups improved on several before-and-after ratings. That does not establish an extra effect of adding breathing: counselling and other shared changes also occurred. Conversely, a small trial without a significant difference does not prove every relaxation approach has zero effect. Its useful lesson is to keep the actual comparison and follow-up visible, not to convert either the authors' enthusiasm or an immediate feeling into a personal success prediction.
Ask about its place alongside qualified help
WHO recommends access to behavioural support for adults interested in quitting. When a service offers relaxation, useful questions include: ‘Is this for comfort during a session, or is there evidence of added abstinence benefit? What comparison and follow-up support that claim? What other cessation help remains available?’ Whether a particular practice fits your health and circumstances is for an appropriate professional, not a breathing schedule on this page.
In England, NHS Better Health links local Stop Smoking Services. Check the available language and format; an official service listing is not certification of a particular relaxation technique. No smoking history, craving score or health information is entered here, and this article does not teach muscle contractions, breath holding or a personalized training routine.
What to keep in mind
Sources
The central claims on this page were checked against the sources below.
- Addiction / Wiley: Roxburgh et al. (2026): controlled breathing and biofeedback; full review
Sources checked: 2026-10-05
- Behavior Therapy / Elsevier: Limsanon and Kalayasiri (2015): acute muscle-relaxation trial; public abstract
Sources checked: 2026-10-05
- Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies / Elsevier: Klinsophon et al. (2022): six-month cluster trial; public abstract
Sources checked: 2026-10-05
- World Health Organization: Adult tobacco cessation guideline (2024), §3.1 access to behavioural support
Sources checked: 2026-10-05
- NHS Better Health: Local Stop Smoking Services in England
Sources checked: 2026-10-05
General adult research explanation, not individualized treatment, self-psychotherapy or breathing instructions. No personal health inputs are collected.