Quit Smoking Laser Treatment: Is It Effective?

Cigarette smoking is a huge problem worldwide. With millions dying to smoking each year, many medical professionals and innovators have stepped forward to urge many away from a preventable health burden.

Aside from the typical smoking cessation programmes and various alternative methods of quitting already existing, quit smoking laser treatments have also become popular in the last few years.

While many motivated smokers who have gone through the treatment report reduced nicotine cravings and urges to smoke, some medical professionals find only anecdotal data and evidence to support its efficiency for anyone on a quit journey.

In today’s post, we’ll talk more about laser treatment for quitting smoking, how they work, and if they’re the best option for you.

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More About Quit Smoking Laser Treatment

Quit smoking laser treatments have become increasingly popular in the last few years. The technology uses the same device used for arthritis laser treatment. 

Instead of pointing at aching joints, the low-level laser will point to your ears, face, hands, or wrists – areas where it is believed to help reduce your nicotine cravings via endorphin activation.

These low-level lasers are non-invasive and only have a low-intensity level, meaning there should be no pain once the lasers touch you.

What the Research Says About Quit Smoking Laser Treatments

Lasers are precise, so they should be able to do something about your nicotine withdrawals, right? However, it’s still far from a professional diagnosis and a doctor’s expertise. Let’s learn more why quit smoking laser technologies aren’t exactly what they’re cracked up to be.

Innovators and practitioners of laser therapy mention that the treatment can improve healing and tissue repair in patients enduring muscle and joint pain in older patients. However, studies have shown there’s lack of data that it works as an arthritis treatment.

One other study demonstrated that a woman going through low-level laser therapy had found great relief from the method. But this study also discovered that the woman was taking herbal supplements while going through the therapy, making laser light therapy’s effects questionable in terms of data.

Arthritis and nicotine withdrawals are two different problems, so why are we discussing arthritis rather than smoking.

If there’s a lack of information and data proving laser light’s efficacy in providing relief for a certain claim, there will certainly be questionable effects in other health issues it claims it can help with.

For instance, innovators and laser service providers mention that stop-smoking lasers help improve endorphin release (something you can also achieve by brisk walking for 10 minutes). 

Endorphins are helpful during your withdrawal phase as it keeps the pain at bay and improves your focus towards stopping smoking.

One study mentions that laser therapy’s ability to release endorphins is quite anecdotal. Studies on mice have shown it to alleviate inflammation, but based on data involving humans, there’s a big lack of valid data on its effects on human endorphin release.

Why Quit Smoking Laser Treatments Aren’t Ideal

Let’s assume for a moment that laser smoking therapy does work for smoking cessation. Let’s say it does release endorphins for 3-5 days and helps improve tissue repair response for most rheumatoid arthritis sufferers.

It would still be very problematic because of the following reasons:

Very anecdotal scientific evidence: Quit smoking laser treatments have lacking information to support its claims in improving arthritis and withdrawal symptoms. While some may report relief and improvement in their condition after treatment, more research should be done to ensure this claim is true and sustainable, and if it has any unknown consequences.

Placebo effect: Placebo effect refers to the body’s innate ability to improve its condition based on willpower alone. If patients are made to feel that many other people find laser treatments helpful for their conditions, their body will use its innate capacity to heal and improve its condition. This might explain the release of endorphins after low-laser treatments, alongside any improvements along the way.

Individual variability: Addiction is a complicated issue that requires a professional who can completely understand what you’re currently going through. With the help of a GP, you can have custom quitting programmes that will pull you away from smoking and the temptation with the right tools and methods.

With low-level laser therapies, you’ll only have one solution that isn’t proven and tailored to your quitting needs. While laser therapies could work, it won’t always work for everyone even if it does.

Smoking Cessation Programmes: A More Effective Route

There’s a better way to stop smoking: going through a smoking cessation programme.

To initiate the process, simply visit your regular GP.

The GP can create a tailor-made quit journey with your previous nicotine consumption in mind. They can also help you through behavioural therapy, counseling, and connecting you with a quit-smoking community.

Aside from these useful and proven solutions, they can also prescribe tools that can help you quit smoking for good: nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products and pharmacy nicotine vaping products (NVPs).

Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT)

NRT products are patches, lozenges, gums, sprays, and inhalers that introduce a small dose of nicotine to alleviate your cravings. These have been proven safe and effective for many smokers, and you can buy them from pharmacies and supermarkets.

These tools are far more effective than low-level laser therapy. While they might not release endorphins, they can alleviate your nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms via the introduction of nicotine to your system.

They’re also a great deal cheaper than a hundred-dollar treatment in a clinic with very limited guarantees.

Pharmacy Vapes

NRT products don’t work for everyone, especially if they work in areas with heavy smokers or have strong gestural triggers, such as craving cigarettes with coffee or right after dinner.

GPs can prescribe responsible NVPs that are available to purchase through a registered pharmacy. These are different from the other illegal ‘vapes’ you can find in corner shops and the local tobacconist.

NVP products sold in pharmacies are made under stringent pharmaceutical standards on the manufacturing process and ingredients, are toxicologically assessed for inhalation, are locally insured, and are specifically designed to help you stop smoking. 

With pharmacy NVPs, you can be sure you’re inhaling a tested and insured product intended for smoking cessation, and designed solely with your health in mind.

On the other hand, Illicit tobacconist vapes are imported under the radar, right alongside illicit tobacco and drugs, and are made as cheaply as possible for maximum profits. They also contain cancer-causing nickel and lead and are sold without any care for human health, including to non-smokers, teens, and children as young as 5 years old.

After you get a prescription, you can head down to your local pharmacy and purchase an NVP. Then, your GP and pharmacist will inform you on how to use and maintain the device and it’s possible side effects during first-time use.

Pharmacy NVPs have been proven more effective than NRT products.The latest Cochrane Review found high-certainty evidence that NVPs are more effective than NRT in helping people stop smoking.

These are also a great deal cheaper than low-level laser light treatments.

Summary

With a lack of evidence and only word-of-mouth to support the claims of low-level laser light therapy, it’s something that no medical professional can prescribe for smoking cessation.

Instead, it’s better to just go through a smoking cessation programme that has helped millions of people quit smoking and improve their health and quality of life for good.

If you’re looking to start on your quit journey, we can help.

Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around! 

If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good.

Link Reference:

• https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10082923/
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6396761/
• https://www.reuters.com/article/us-lasers-smoking-idUSTRE68S3TM20100929
• https://www.bbc.com/news/health-65614078
• https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/aussie-kindergarteners-caught-in-vaping-trend-principal-claims/news-story/ee3b6b89457c9e6e089b535abe89170b
• https://www.cochrane.org/news/latest-cochrane-review-finds-high-certainty-evidence-nicotine-e-cigarettes-are-more-effective