Transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy has a 40-percent success rate in breaking the smoking habit, according to the interim results of a new Israeli study. In treatments using this method the subject, who is fully conscious during the process, dons a kind of metal helmet that transmits magnetic waves to the brain. These weak electrical pulses stimulate the nervous system.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive method to cause depolarization or hyperpolarization in the neurons of the brain. TMS uses electromagnetic induction to induce weak electric currents using a rapidly changing magnetic field; this can cause activity in specific or general parts of the brain with minimal discomfort, allowing the functioning and interconnections of the brain to be studied. A variant of TMS, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), has been tested as a treatment tool for various neurological and psychiatric disorders including migraines, strokes, Parkinson's disease, dystonia, tinnitus, depression and auditory hallucinations. Wiki