"Burned" by Laser Therapy for Smoking Cessation?

With the Great American Smoke Out being held this month, public interest in methods of smoking cessation will increase. In the years I have been practicing hypnosis counseling, I have had the privilege of working with many folks who have been able to quit successfully.

Oft times I have been asked what I think of the other methods of quitting. Keeping in mind that I am not a physician, here it goes-

Nicotine replacement therapy- this is where the person continues to receive a regular dosage of nicotine via a skin patch, inhaler or gum. The rationale is that the smoker can taper down with the nicotine replacement product and then quit with minimal withdrawal (why a person wouldn't just taper down the number of cigarettes they smoke has never be explained to me). However this method does not address the mental aspects of the smoking behavior. In fact, the manufacturers of nicotine replacement products usually recommend some sort of behavioral counseling in addition.

Anti-depressant drugs- an unintended benefit discovered by psychiatrists who prescribed the anti-depressant drug Wellbutrin to patients that they were treating for depression was that many spontaneously stopped smoking. Eventually this drug was approved for use in smoking cessation. Is it possible that a subset of people who continue to smoke against their own wishes are masking underlying depression nicotine? Like any prescription pharmaceutical, there is the risk of some upsetting side-effects. The cost-to-benefit ratio is one that you and your doctor would have to decide on. Like nicotine replacement therapy, a behavioral counseling intervention in addition to the medication would probably increase the chances of your success.

In my hypnosis counseling practice I have had clients who have integrated either nicotine replacement or anti-depressant therapy with hypnosis and have had great results. Since I am not an MD, I cannot recommend whether you should go this route, talk to your physician first.

Accupuncture- this Asian healing practices stimulates the subtle energy points of the body with needles gently placed into the skin in order to promote wellness and healing..A licensed practitioner of accupuncture or a Doctor of Oriental Medicine is a healthcare professional you can trust and they may very well be able to help you with smoking cessation. They usually take a careful history before working with you and may integrate traditional Chinese herbal remedies into the treatment plan.

The same cannot be said for the proprietors of the new breed of laser clinics that tout rapid smoking cures who are usually not qualified accupuncturists.

For starters, cold laser therapy is not approved by the FDA for the treatment of smoking or any other addictive behavior. These devices are supposed to be used for the temporary relief of pain only. No reliable study has indicated that laser accupuncture provides any benefit above a placebo or sham treatment. In fact, Ralph Nader's consumer protection group Public Citizen has petitioned the FDA to begin cracking down on these fraudulent providers. Their press release on the topic is provided below.

Companies Must Stop Fraudulently Promoting Laser Therapy as a Treatment to Quit Smoking, Public Citizen Tells FDA
Companies Illegally Marketing Therapy Despite Lack of Scientific Evidence and Lack of FDA Approval

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Public Citizen today petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to stop five companies from illegally promoting low-power laser therapy as a means to quit smoking. The clinics, Freedom Laser Therapy Inc., the Anne Penman Laser Therapy clinics, New Beginnings Laser Therapy, Laser Concept and the Stop Smoking Laser Center, are marketing laser therapy as a safe and effective smoking cessation treatment despite the lack of FDA clearance or any evidence that it is effective.

Laser therapy, also known as laser acupuncture, aims a low-power laser beam rather than needles at various points of the body. It is approved by the FDA for marketing only for the temporary relief of pain. For all other uses, the therapy may be used only for investigational clinical trials or studies. “The laser device does not have marketing clearance for smoking cessation, and promotion of such use as well as claims of safety and/or efficacy for this use are illegal,” reads the seven-page Public Citizen petition.

Although all five companies are violating FDA laws and regulations, the petition focuses on Freedom Laser Therapy (FLT), which has garnered the most news coverage on multiple local and national television programs. FLT claims an 85 percent success rate for curing smoking addiction in just one 30-minute session. It also touts the support of “international clinical trials” to back up its claims. But inspection of the three “international clinical trials” offered on the company’s Web site reveals that none has been published and none is a proper trial that would offer scientific evidence that laser therapy is a valid treatment to stop smoking.
FLT’s therapy is $399 for the single 30-minute session, an expensive treatment for typical smokers who are trying to quit. According to the petition, this money would be better spent on treatments that have been proven to show some success: nicotine replacement therapy, physician advice, certain antidepressants and individual behavioral counseling.

Despite the lack of scientific evidence supporting its claims, the company has launched an aggressive marketing campaign to recruit a wide audience of vulnerable clients who are looking to stop smoking. It has created two promotional videos, orchestrated coverage on at least 20 local and national news programs and has run a demonstration booth backstage at the nationally televised American Music Awards to appeal to celebrities as potential spokespeople. In all of its advertising, FLT presents laser treatment as a much more credible option than has been shown in the medical literature.

“FLT claims it is conducting clinical trials authorized by the FDA, however the nature and extent of its advertising and promotional activities portray a company that is clearly marketing a self-proclaimed proven treatment,” said Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group. “At this time, there is a lack of any scientific support for the use of laser therapy for smoking cessation, and to claim otherwise is illegal.”

A thorough review of the medical literature reveals only a single well-designed study that could answer the question about laser effectiveness for smoking cessation and this study revealed “no difference” between laser acupuncture and placebo.

Its violation of the law and misleading advertising to a susceptible audience make this industry a prime target for FDA action. According to FLT’s Web site, it plans to open franchises across the country and expand the treatment to include weight loss in addition to smoking cessation.
“Manipulative and aggressive marketing campaigns such as this must be met with equally aggressive FDA action in order to protect the health and interests of the public,” states the petition.###

Source for this entry:
http://www.citizen.org/pressroom/release.cfm?ID=2223