Single Laser Treatment to Quit Smoking?

By Ronnie Koenig From AOL Health

Innovative Laser Therapy, a New Haven, Conn.-based company is claiming on their website that you can quit smoking from just one hour of low-level laser treatment targeted at acupuncture points on the body. During the treatment, lasers are pointed at areas on the face, hands and wrist. This is supposed to relieve withdrawal symptoms and prevent cravings.

"When you smoke a cigarette, you artificially tell your brain to release endorphins," Frank Pinto, the owner of Innovative Laser Therapy said in a Reuters Health article. "The laser basically stimulates the nerve endings to tell the brain to release a flood of endorphins," he said.

The laser allegedly gets the smoker over the three- to five-day hump of withdrawal symptoms. The company also claims that the treatment targets points that will suppress appetite so patients can avoid the weight gain associated with quitting smoking.

Innovative Laser Therapy cites a 2008 study published in the Journal of Chinese Medicine where U.K. researchers found that smokers that had four laser treatments over two weeks were more likely to quit than those who had just three treatments.

Those in the three treatment group had better success rates than a control group that was given fake laser treatments.


But many in the scientific community feel that this is not sufficient data to support laser treatment as a proven smoking cessation tool, and it has not yet been approved for this purpose by the FDA.

"The study on four treatments versus three treatments is not all that convincing,” says Dr. Len Horovitz, internist and pulmonary specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “I have a problem with something Frank Pinto said which is that endorphins are released when you smoke. That’s not exactly true.

"What happens is that nicotine goes to the endorphin receptors. It's not a natural release of endorphins like you get from exercise. So his statement is a little unscientific," he told AOL Health.

Pinto started his company after he successfully kicked the habit after one round of laser therapy from a clinic in Florida. His company charges $350 for a one-time treatment that takes less than an hour and offers free extra treatments to patients who continue to struggle over the following six months.

"The laser treatment has been compared to acupuncture, which also targets points on the body to help the person quit.

There’s nothing that implies that the use of these lasers is all that special," said Horovitz. "I've done acupuncture on patients -- you hit the Shen Men point on the ear. I’ve seen success in people who are already motivated to quit. Personal motivation is the most important factor."

Horovitz is also concerned that the laser treatment would not address the psychological side of smoking and the ritual of lighting up.

"Statistics show that a combination of using the patch daily in one of three strengths in combination with nicotine chewing gum, and then going to a lower strength is the most successful route," he said. "But remember that smoking is not totally a physical problem. There’s the psychological component. There’s the option of going to a support group or therapy to address this."

Horovitz said that it is possible to quit smoking in just one hour. "A one-hour serious talk with yourself could work. It is possible to just stop. It's not like eating where you have to do it to live. You don’t need the pills and the gum,” he said. “I tell patients that there is a life without smoking."

Trapped Miners Allowed To Smoke ~

No word yet on whether or not alcohol will be allowed ...

Tomorrow, Monday September 27, 2010, I will be smoke free for 450 days! I really have to confess I am proud of this accomplishment. Further, I am very confident that I will make it another 450 days and beyond!

However, if I ever do find myself in a situation like the ones the Chilean miners are in now, I think I may be tempted to have a few cigarettes, just to curb the boredom if nothing else!

The 33 men trapped deep inside a northern Chilean mine were given permission to smoke a couple of weeks ago after improvements were made in their air ventilation.

The miners will share two cigarette packs a day through the small shaft from the surface, after nicotine patches failed to curb their cravings.

The trapped miners have become national heroes since they were found alive on August 22, 17 days after a mine cave-in in the remote Atacama desert.

They are trapped about 700 metres below the surface.

Rescuers have installed a multi-functional plastic tube that lets the miners get water and air, and have permanent telephone communication with the surface.

Does Acupuncture Help in Quitting Cigarettes?

As you already know, I used hypnosis for my most recent and most successful attempt at quitting smoking. However, others looking for a way to beat the habit have been using acupuncture for several decades now —
but does it actually work?

According to those who endorse it, the technique helps stimulate the release of endorphins and other brain chemicals, blotting out cravings and easing the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal. A 2006 survey by the Mayo Clinic found that about 27 percent of smokers looking to quit had tried acupuncture at least once, and many others said they hoped to try it in the future.

Most studies, however, suggest they could just as well try something else. One of the most extensive studies, published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, looked at more than a dozen past studies, most comparing acupuncture with sham, or fake, acupuncture and other control conditions. The scientists who led the study found that acupuncture and similar interventions — acupressure and electrostimulation, for example — were better in the short term than no treatment at all, but that over all they were not very effective.

Still, other studies show that more than three-quarters of smokers will relapse a few times no matter what. And because the effects of different techniques vary from one person to the next, most scientists recommend combining interventions, particularly those that involve behavioral modification and nicotine replacement.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Most studies have not found acupuncture very effective in helping smokers quit. I personally believe what ever method you choose, if you really want it to work it will!

The Black Sheep of the Family ~

"Wake me up early, be good to my dog and teach my children to pray .... "

Yes ... I saw John Anderson Live a couple of weeks ago ... At one of THE most smoking friendly venues I've been to since the Eighties!

I'm always surprised how much second hand smoke bothers me now -- but I have to say I seem to be equally as surprised when it doesn't bother me at all. In fact there are times when I kind of like it.

This was an outdoor event, so smoke was freely flowing all around the fairgrounds ... But I do remember the days when you were completely free to light up just about anywhere inside an enclosed arena!

Life has changed a lot since the eighties.
(Probably for the better) ...

NYC Mayor Moves to Ban Smoking in Parks, Beaches

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg today announced plans to ban smoking in some of the Big Apple's most famous outdoor locations, including Central Park, the boardwalk at Coney Island and part of Times Square.

New York City Health Department officials are considering banning smoking in all city parks and beaches as part of Bloomberg's new public health initiative."The science is clear: Prolonged exposure to secondhand smoke -- whether you're indoors or out -- hurts your health," Bloomberg said in a statement. "Today we're doing something about it."

The new rules would forbid smokers from lighting up in all of the city's public parks and beaches, a definition that includes the pedestrian zone of Times Square, where a Camel cigarettes billboard once blew fake smoke rings at passers-by.

The city banned smoking in bars and restaurants in 2003, a move that faced strong opposition at the time. Now, crowds of smokers are a common sight outside the city's many nightspots.

In July, City Health Commissioner Thomas A. Farley said that smoking was the leading preventable cause of death in America's biggest city, taking the lives of 7,500 New Yorkers ever year. That's more than AIDS, drugs, suicide and homicide combined, The New York Times reported.

"New York is the national leader in creating healthy cities and promoting a healthy lifestyle," said City Council Member Gale A. Brewer, who is introducing the new legislation. "That's why we're pushing to get butts off the beaches."

Sponsored LinksStill, the battle is not over yet. The 51-member City Council needs to hold hearings on the proposed legislation before it even takes a vote.

Opposition to smoking bans can get serious. In 2003, a New York bouncer lost his life after an argument about smoking. The bouncer, Dana Blake, asked a bar patron to put out his smoke. A fight ensued, and Blake was stabbed as he tried to throw them out, The Independent reported.

"It's a senseless murder because of this stupid cigarette law. That's the reason this guy was killed," the victim's brother, Tony Blake, said at the time

John Boehner and Tobacco: He's Not Ready to Give Up Smoking

House Minority Leader John Boehner has two ties to the tobacco industry. He gets a lot of political support and money from it, and he smokes a lot of cigarettes. But putting the political aspect aside, Boehner made one thing clear Sunday: he's not ready to give up the habit.

In an unusual twist for one of the Sunday newsmaker shows, politics did in fact take a back seat to the personal, when Bob Schieffer, host of CBS' Face the Nation, asked Boehner about his smoking and whether he, as a national leader, would give it up "set a good example for the country."

Boehner said it's a "bad habit" but he's not ready to give it up.

Schieffer admitted he was not an objective questioner on the subject, having developed bladder cancer seven years ago (he is now cancer-free). He blamed the cancer on his heavy smoking. A native Texan, Schieffer has said he began chewing tobacco at 16 because "I hung around rodeos and played baseball."

Boehner is a heavy smoker (The Hill newspaper says his brand is Camel Ultra Lights), and perhaps one of the cruelest cuts he suffered at the hands of House Speaker Nancy Pelsoi came in 2007 when she banned smoking in the Speaker's Lobby, an area right off the House floor.

Schieffer asked how Boehner squared taking money from the tobacco lobby given the widely-acknowledged health hazards posed by cigarettes and the 435,000 deaths a year attributed to it.

"Tobacco is a legal product in America," Boehner said. "The American people have a right to decide for themselves whether they want to partake or not. There are lots of things that we deal with and come in contact with every day, from alcohol to food to cigarettes, a lot of the things that aren't good for our health. But the American people ought to have the right to make those decisions on their own."

Schieffer countered: "They have a right to shoot themselves if they choose to, but I mean, shouldn't we do something to try to encourage them not to? I mean, do you think that's a good example? "

"Well listen, I wish I didn't have this bad habit - and it is a bad habit - you've had it, you've dealt with it, but it's something that I choose to do, and you know at some point, maybe I'll decide I've had enough of it," Boehner responded.

Schieffer proposed: "If you should become Speaker, you could set a good example for the country by saying 'I'm going to stop smoking.' Maybe you could get the President, I understand he smokes too, maybe the two of you could find a way to try to stop smoking. That'd be kind of a good thing, wouldn't it? "

Boehner said he appreciated the suggestion, and when he and Schieffer turned back to politics, Boehner said that, for the Republicans, "winning the House is still an uphill fight."

U.S. Smoking Rate Still Stuck at 1 in 5 Adults ~

Published September 07, 2010 FoxNews.com

ATLANTA – U.S. smoking rates continue to hold steady, at about one in five adults lighting up regularly, frustrated health officials reported Tuesday.

About 21 percent of U.S. adults were smokers in 2009, about the same percentage as the year before, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The smoking rate — which fell dramatically since the 1960s — has basically been flat since about 2004.

Teen smoking, at nearly 20 percent, has not been improving lately, either.

Health officials believe they've lost momentum because of cuts to anti-tobacco campaigns and shrewd marketing by cigarette companies.

The new report suggests that more than 46 million American adults still smoke cigarettes"It's tragic," said CDC director Dr. Thomas Frieden, who calls smoking the No. 1 preventable cause of death in the United States. He estimates that smoking kills 1,000 Americans a day.

Some experts were particularly disheartened by a CDC finding in a second report that nearly all children who live with a smoker — 98 percent — have measurable tobacco toxins in their body.

Experts say tobacco taxes and smoking bans are driving down rates in some states. But nationwide, they say progress has been halted by tobacco company discounts or lack of funding for programs to discourage smoking or to help smokers quit.

The annual smoking report was based on government surveys. The second report looked at levels in the blood of cotinine, a chemical from tobacco smoke, in a total of more than 30,000 nonsmokers between 1999 and 2008.

Overall, detectable levels of cotinine dropped over the 10 years — from about 52 percent to 40 percent. That may be due in part to more smoking bans in workplaces, restaurants and other places.

But there were several bits of bad news in that report, too:

- Most of the decline came about 10 years ago.

- More than half of U.S. children ages 3 to 11 are exposed to secondhand smoke, and the CDC says there is no safe level of exposure.

- There's been virtually no improvement for children who live with a smoker, noted Matthew L. Myers, president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a Washington-based research and advocacy organization.

Although the statistics are largely unchanged, advocates said the reports are important. They plan to use the data to pressure national, state and local governments to do more against smoking.

"Without bold action by our elected officials, too many lives, young and old, will suffer needlessly from chronic illness and burdensome health care expenses," Nancy Brown, chief executive of the American Heart Association, said in a statement.

9~11 ~ A Tribute ~

Take a moment to go back and read

Remember 9/11 Prayer ~

from one year ago today.

God Bless America!

Michael Douglas' Cancer is Probably Smoking Related ~

Hollywood icon Michael Douglas' years of smoking and drinking is the probable culprit for his throat cancer diagnosis, according to one doctor who said the Wall Street star's condition is likely curable.

"That combination is, unfortunately, a recipe for development of a throat cancer," Dr. Kenneth Hu, co-director of the Head and Neck Institute at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, told "Good Morning America" today. "I think the fact that he's getting radiation means it's curable."

News of a tumor in Douglas' throat was released Monday. People magazine is reporting that the star known for his gravelly voice will soon undergo eight weeks of chemotherapy and radiation.

"It tells you that it's probably an intermediate stage cancer," said Hu, who is not involved with Douglas' treatment.

The two months of treatment, he said, will likely preserve Douglas' voice box though he may be noticeably more hoarse by the end. More aggressive treatment, he said, such as surgery, carries a much more significant risk of permanently damaging the voice.

Hu said Douglas will have to stop smoking, if he hasn't already, for the treatment to work properly.

"Smoking probably caused the cancer," he said."But smoking during the radiation makes the radiation less effective."

"I am very optimistic," Douglas said in a statement.

Douglas has openly struggled with his smoking habit in the past, but it has not been confirmed that his penchant for cigarettes is linked to his diagnosis.

Hu said tobacco infiltrates most of the body, causing tissue to inflame and repeated alcohol use serves to chronically irritate the area. Put together, the two drugs create a breeding ground for cancerous cells to develop.

"Michael Douglas, as recently as four years ago has admitted that he was struggling with his smoking situation," People magazine staff writer Blaine Zuckerman said. "Smoking has been a part of his life."

In 1996 Douglas told ABC News that the 20 years of abuse "needed to be corrected and checked."

Douglas' diagnosis comes ahead of the premiere of his latest movie, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, due to open in theaters Sept. 24. It's unclear whether his treatment will affect the promotion of the highly anticipated follow-up to 1987's "Wall Street."

Doing The Math ~

Sixty-One Weeks & Still -- Living Smoke Free!

**Blogger's Note:
Attached are photos from my latest road trip.
a) Entering U of R campus
b) Home of the Yellow Jackets
c) A Canadian Moose
d) The Falls at Night
FJW

During my most recent journey I spent a long time in the car, driving round trip to Rochester, NY., Niagara Falls, both America and Canada. During my car time, if I'm not smoking a few packs of cigarettes along the way, what am I supposed to do?

Mathematics Calisthenics, of course!

**Blogger's Second Note:
Below math is based on these two variables. a) I used to go into the store and buy one pack of 'good' smokes and one pack of the 'cheap sh**' (the employees were in the habit of asking me: "One pack of each?") then alternate between smoking a premium and a cheap azz one ...
and b) This cost estimate is pre Obama Cigarette Tax Hike.

14 Months Living Smoke Free equals 61 Smokeless Weeks; that’s 427 days of NOT smoking!

At approximately 1 1/2 packs of cigarettes each day it would seem I have thus far NOT smoked 12,810 cigarettes - Let me type that out for effect:

Twelve Thousand, Eight-Hundred, Ten Cigarettes!

(One More Note: Notice you don’t put an “and” in whole numbers when you type them out – just in case you were wondering)!

With the estimated cost at the time of my quitting of right around $8.00 a day, I have saved myself: $3,416.00 –

Again, spelling it all out:
Nearly Thirty-Five Hundred Dollars!

I can’t speak for everyone, but in my world that’s alotta lettuce!

I’ve written once of the ‘residual’ cost savings from kicking the habit – all the savings in addition to merely the cost of the cigarettes – I will have to revisit that topic again soon. But for today, as I continue Living Smoke Free, let me summarize:

14 Months (Tomorrow)
61 Weeks (Today)
427 Smoke Free Days
12,810 Cigarettes Saved
$3,416.00 Kept in my pocket!

The Five Stages Of Change ~

I've tried quitting before, but it didn't work. Why not?

I've asked myself that very question so many times ... of course the answer was simply the lack of perseverance or will power. To quit smoking, one must be ready emotionally and mentally.

Some people are more ready to quit than others. Here are five stages of change that most people go through to successfully quit smoking.

Stage One:
Pre-contemplation. You don't want to quit smoking, but you may try to quit because you feel pressured to quit.

Stage Two:
Contemplation. You want to quit someday. You haven't taken steps to quit, but you want to quit.

Stage Three:
Preparation. You take small steps to quit such as cutting back on smoking or switching to a lighter brand.

Stage Four:
Action. You put a plan for quitting into action. You make changes in your actions and environment to help cope with urges to smoke. You cope with urges to smoke by following the plan and remain smoke-free for six months.

Stage Five:
Maintenance. You have not smoked for one year.

Now, after so many attempts at quitting, for the first time I have reached the fifth step -- Maintenance. It feels great! My goal now is not only to maintain by smoke free living but hopefully assist a few others along the way.

Remember:
Smoking again (relapse) is common. In fact, 75% of those who quit will smoke again. Most smokers try to quit three times before being successful.