Spring 2005 Newsletter

SMOKE FREE!!!!

After 38 years of being a smoker (almost 2 packs a day for the last 15 years) I am finally "smoke free". Yes, I know it is difficult to believe that as much into alternative health care as I am that I've just recently been able to quit, but it's true. Part of the reason I do colonics, take cleansing products, herbs and vitamins has been because of my addiction to nicotine. Believe me I've tried the patch, gum, hypnosis, acupuncture, a well known prescription medication and cold turkey, all to no avail. So how did I finally get the "nicotine monkey" off my back? Low level Cold Laser Therapy for the stimulation of acupuncture points for smoking cessation.

Laser is an acronym for the words Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. There are two general classifications of laser;  High Power (hot) lasers and Low Power (cold/soft) lasers. The difference is based on the optical energy of the device.

Hot lasers are capable of causing thermal changes in the target material.

Cold low level lasers are not capable of of causing thermal changes in the target material. Low level lasers stimulate tissue rather than destroy tissue.

What is acupuncture?

In acupuncture, fine needles are inserted at specific points in the body to stimulate, disperse, and regulate the flow of Chi, or vital energy, through the body, and to restore a healthy energy balance. Often used in the US for pain relief, acupuncture is also used to improve well-being and to treat acute, chronic, and degenerative conditions. The insertion of these fine needles at specific acupuncture points stimulates the nervous system to release specific chemicals in the brain.

Below are excerpts from an article written by Diane Marty in the Spring/Summer 2005 Body Sense Magazine

Natural Ways to Curb Smoking

Addiction experts say smoking is a habit more formidable than cocaine or heroin. Of the 46 million American adults who indulge, close to three-quarters of them say they want to quit, and nearly half of those hooked make at least one annual attempt
to curb the habit. Yet even when their addiction confines them to tiny, dark rooms or takes them outside in sub-zero temperatures, dedicated smokers can’t seem to restrain their impulse to light up.

But great battles have been won against this killer habit. For the first time, more people are ex-smokers than current smokers. However, the war wages on, and the casualties remain high. Even today, this habit accounts for one out of five deaths in the United States.

Patches and prescriptions represent familiar — and highly publicized — weapons used against the discomforts that come with quitting this habit. But smokers searching for supportive nonsmoking strategies will discover allies in alternative approaches as well.

Many former smokers credit acupuncture with assisting them in overcoming the powerful desire for nicotine fixes that has sent leagues of quitters sifting through ashtrays and trash cans for cigarette butts. And recent studies are beginning to validate what these successful ex-smokers have known all along. Acupuncture works, and its methodology is pretty clear-cut.

“Standard acupuncture protocol for smoking dependency involves inserting three or four needles into specific points on each ear,” says Randy Baca, D.C., a Denver-area chiropractor certified in acupuncture. “It’s a very small gauge needle, the thickness of a hair, so the treatment is painless.

“The patient lies still, while the needles remain in place for 20 to 30 minutes,” Baca adds. Usually, five to eight treatments are necessary, and two or three sessions per week are optimum.

Clients don’t really feel anything during the treatments, Baca says. It’s after the sessions that they really reap the benefits. Acupuncture has a physiological effect. Clients report that cigarettes actually taste repulsive. So, it’s really an aversion-type therapy.

“Acupuncture is an aid,” Baca says. “It’s not a guarantee. It’s not a cure.” He says if a smoker isn’t “good and ready” to quit, they shouldn’t waste their time or money on this therapy. So, before he treats any individual, he verifies they’re not looking for a quick fix. They need to be truly tired of the cost, the smell, and the fear of health consequences of smoking.

Where acupuncture alone gives ground, the joined forces of acupuncture and education may bring victory. A New Hampshire study demonstrated that together education and acupuncture delivered a powerful one–two punch to entrenched smoking habits — especially for those participants who smoked the most, the longest. That’s great news for career smokers.

“In our study, we saw a 40 percent success rate for those who completed the treatment plan,” says Ian Bier, N.D., Ph.D., president of I.B. Scientific, a company specializing in natural medicine research. “In other words, if participants showed up and did their acupuncture and education, there was a 40 percent quit rate over 18 months.”

Bier says that although both acupuncture and educational information on quitting have a positive effect alone, they are much stronger together. And when it comes to comparing any of the “alternative” means of nonsmoking control to its chemical cousin, Bier takes a strong stance.

“One problem that occurs with the chemical means of quitting support is that people will continue smoking while using the patch or gum, which can be dangerous due to the potential for overdosing on nicotine,” he says. “Obviously, there’s no such possible side effect with acupuncture.”

I was so impressed with the ease in which I was able to quit smoking with just one cold laser therapy session that I went to the Matrix Institute of Laser Technology on Windsor, Ontario, Canada for training. I am now a certified laser technician for Smoking Cessation and Weight Management. I am presently offering sessions for Weight Management and will be offering Smoking Cessation in the very near future.

For those smokers like myself that have tried on numerous occasions to quit ......if you are sincerely interested in quitting and ready to quit I highly recommend Low level cold laser therapy.

Cold Laser versus Needles

Cold Laser Therapy is comfortable, relaxing, drug free, non-invasive, only takes 30 minutes .....and the results are virtually the same as acupuncture using needles. The same acupuncture points are use in the cold laser therapy session as are used in a regular acupuncture session.

The following are the results of a Double blind placebo controlled study at Middlesex University in July of 2002 to assess the effectiveness of Low level laser therapy as a treatment modality for stopping smoking.

Discussion

Specific, statistically analyzed data to be made available in the full up for the above points.

The results clearly show that low level laser therapy has a significant effect as an aid in the successful treatment of stopping smoking.

The percentage of patients returning to tobacco during the 3 months following the trial reported that they smoked due to particular moments of stress experienced--they can identify the reason why they smoked again. They felt if supplementary treatments had been made available they would have taken them and perhaps would not have smoked. This is purely conjecture but the potential for stress management and follow up in the clinic is clear.

Not a single patient gained weight and some lost weight.

Reduction in high blood pressure occurred in severely hypertensive patients, was immediate and was maintained. This effect was more markedly maintained than occurs with the use of needles. It could be partly explained by general relaxing in the chair and stopping smoking in general but still warrants further investigation.

General reports of a boost of well being and sleeping well--this without suggestion and generally remarked throughout the laser groups.

For additional information about cold laser therapy please visit the following website.

http://www.matrixths.com/