Published 8 hours ago,
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You may have already come across this type of ad on the internet or in the pages of a magazine: “Stop smoking in one session”, “85% success rate”… These ads concern the laser, a technique which is similar to acupuncture supposed to allow smoking cessation, with ease according to its promoters. Is this true or is this method more of a scam? The answers of Professor Daniel Thomas, vice-president of the National Committee against Smoking.
The rather expensive method – the session costs on average 200 euros – promises a “miracle”: coming out of the center having no more desire to smoke, thanks to the application of a soft laser on the ear. A technique similar to auriculotherapy, presented with medical jargon but which has no scientific value.
A soft laser, derived from acupuncture
This technique is based on the stimulation of auriculotherapy points, a technique derived from acupuncture. “Acupuncture, like hypnosis or auriculotherapy, are techniques that are not scientifically validated, but they can bring individual benefits to certain people, this requires different things, empathy, listening on the part of the practitioner. first details Professor Thomas. “This is what is difficult in the context of the laser, it is that it is based on practices for which we recognize benefits, but it remains a false method.
Non-physician “practitioners”
Indeed, in these anti-tobacco laser centers, in addition to promoting false claims, such as 85% success from the first time, the scam is also present from a legal point of view. “The owners of these centers give false figures. Saying that they get “85% success” is wrong. With scientifically recognized methods, such as nicotine replacement, we achieve an average success rate of 50%, and it’s almost never the first time.” reminds the specialist.
These centers also speak of “therapists” or “practitioners”, when they refer to the professionals who carry out the sessions. “However, according to the High Authority for Health, only doctors and certain recognized health professionals are authorized to carry out acupuncture sessions. adds Professor Thomas.
When you are a smoker and you despair of being able to stop smoking one day, these establishments can seem to be the miracle solution. However, this is not the case, the technique having not been the subject of serious conclusive studies, as several pulmonologists point out in the journal The Mail of Addiction March 31, 2022: “Among non-drug approaches to smoking cessation, laser therapy is one of the popular aids. To date, in the rare randomized studies available, no significant effect of laser treatment compared to sham laser has been found for smoking cessation. Complementary work, benefiting from a rigorous methodology, appears essential..
Only a possible placebo effect can be recognized in them: “Three methods are currently recognized as being effective in quitting smoking: nicotine replacement therapy, medication and cognitive behavioral therapy. still exposes Professor Thomas.
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Failures then success
And it’s only very rarely a linear quest. “Often people find that substitutes don’t work. In reality, it is more a problem of dose, you have to have the right dose to feel the effects of a substitute, both orally and by patch. And the attempts to quit can be many, but a smoker must keep his will to quit intact and take these failures as a way to get closer to the time when he will definitely quit. concludes the expert.
With 73,000 deaths per year in France, smoking is the leading cause of preventable premature death. Smokers see their life expectancy decrease by 20 years on average. According to the French health authorities, one in two smokers dies from tobacco.