Ben Affleck went to a hypnotist to help him quit smoking. The 'Pearl Harbor' actor says becoming a father to two-year-old Violet, his daughter with wife Jennifer Garner, was the catalyst he needed to overcome his habit.

Once he had made up his mind to quit, Ben decided to take a leaf out of pal Matt Damon's book by visiting a hypnotist. He told chat show host Oprah Winfrey: "I finally decided to quit smoking when I found out I was going to have a child. That was the thing that sort of put it over the top for me. I decided to go to a hypnotist. You sit in a chair and the hypnotist sips water and just talks to you for an hour, and explains how nicotine is poison.

"All of a sudden, I thought, 'This is asinine that I've been doing this to myself for all these years.' My last cigarette was on November 10th, 2005, and I feel a huge difference in my health now that I don't smoke. I feel like I'm in better shape than I was five years ago."

Meanwhile, Ben and Jennifer have been spotted house hunting. The couple are said to be desperate to leave New York now that Jennifer has finished performing on Broadway in 'Cyrano de Bergerac'.

A source close to the family said: "Both Ben and Jennifer feel it is very important to bring Violet up away from New York. They think it is much healthier for her to grow up away from the city."

They are believed to be looking for properties in Bel Air.