The websites in France are full of attractive advertisements that promise to help stop smoking in one session using a laser, with a “success rate of 85 percent” but doctors and authorities say this technique is not scientifically proven.
The website “Laser Smoking Control Centers” indicates that the technique used by them leads to guaranteed results for a year and does not lead to an increase in weight, reports a local Arabic daily.
The developers of this technology, which is based on “auricular therapy” derived from acupuncture technique, confirm that the “light laser” stimulates certain areas in the outer ear, which leads to a reduction in the desire for nicotine in smokers.
“Smokers face great difficulty when they try to quit several times, but they easily return to this habit,” Daniel Tomat, former head of the cardiology department at the Paris-based Pettier Salpetriere Hospital, spokesman for the Francophone Society of Smoking, told AFP.
Although the cost of this technique ranges between 150 and 250 Euros (between 161 and 269 dollars) on average per session, the tempting promises to quit smoking are accompanied by several medical terms such as “clinics”, “therapists” and “treatment”.
One of the departments in the French Ministry of Health indicates “there is no study or scientific data that proves the effectiveness of this technique.” The “TAPA Info Service” website (Smoking Information Section) stresses that “laser is not one of the approved and proven effective methods for smoking cessation.”
The Canadian Cancer Society has warned since 2007 of this technology, which is reinforced by supportive campaigns that include promises to quit smoking, alcohol and drugs.
Specialists explain that the smoker may get rid of his desire to smoke after the laser session, precisely because the placebo drug had a significant impact on the person.