Basic HTML Version
Continued from page 27
It works that way with other
nicotine replacement methods,
as well, including nicotine gum,
lozenges and nasal spray.
Nicotine replacement therapy
is meant to be used for only a set
period of time, usually a matter
of weeks. And smoking while us-
ing those therapies, particularly
a patch that is constantly feeding
nicotine into the body, can be
dangerous if it causes a person’s
heart to race.
Another “replacement” smok-
ers usually need is something
to have in their hands, between
their fingers, to emulate holding
a cigarette. “It can be anything
shaped like one or the same
size, like a small stick or a straw
or toy. I know of one man who
taped up a real cigarette so he
couldn’t light it but could still
hold it. Whatever works, use it,”
said Shull.
At OSF smokers are given pam-
phlets that describe the amount
of money a person can expect
to save by giving up cigarettes
with possible suggestions of
how to spend the money. Some
pamphlets also describe, in vivid
detail, all the substances that are
in cigarettes and their effects on
the body. “Sometimes that fear
is enough to compel people to
quit,” Tjaden-Huber said.
Another method that seems to
be picking up steam is low dose
laser therapy, which is related to
acupuncture. Low level lasers,
or cold lasers, are used instead
of needles on the same places as
acupuncture — the ears, wrists
and around the mouth, mostly —
to relax the smoker and trigger
the release of endorphins and
thus mimic the effects of nicotine.
The American Cancer Society
said there isn’t much scientific
evidence to suggest laser therapy
or acupuncture really work and
the Food and Drug Administra-
tion is still reviewing it, even
though it is perfectly legal in the
United States. The Internet cites
other organizations that say there
hasn’t been enough study to
show one way or the other.
In Peoria the only cold laser
therapy being used is at Laser
Solutions, which has been in
business since 2006 and has
treated more than 2,000 people
for smoking cessation in that
time, said Jody Williams, who
owns Laser Solutions at 3100 N.
Dries Lane.
She contends her success rate
is 80 percent. “All the research I
know about shows it can work
and not harm anyone. They’ve
been using it in Europe and
Canada for more than 30 years,”
Williams said.
Williams became a believer
when laser therapy helped her
quit smoking. Her therapy was
delivered by her mother Linda
Sprague, a registered nurse who
became a licensed laser techni-
cian after laser therapy helped
her stop smoking after battling
the habit for 25 years, Williams
said. That was in 2004 and
Sprague soon after got trained
herself at a clinic in Florida and
opened Laser Solutions. She sold
it to her daughter but still assists
in giving treatments.
While the FDA has approved
cold laser therapy as treatment
for pain it hasn’t yet given full
approval of the method for smok-
ing cessation. Because of that not
all insurance companies cover
the treatments, which cost $250
for the initial treatment and two
follow-up treatments. But Wil-
liams said it is catching on and
that some insurance is starting to
pay for at least part of the treat-
ments, as are some companies for
their employees.
Patients can get booster treat-
ments at reduced rates later if
life circumstances cause them to
waver or even fall off the wagon.
“We want to help them before the
situation spirals out of control
and they are full-blown smokers
again,” she said.
“Our treatments are like all
others in that the person quitting
really has to want to quit. There
are people who say they want
to but they really aren’t being
truthful with themselves. We can
usually tell through our pre-treat-
ment assessments those who will
struggle the most,” she said.
Another relative of acupunc-
ture is auriculotherapy. With this
method certain pressure points in
the ear are stimulated to mimic
the effects of nicotine. In Peoria it
is done at Harrison Chiropractic
and Stop Smoking Clinic in Peo-
ria and Pekin. More information
is available at harrisonchiroprac-
tic.net.
The Present
Photo courtesy of Laser Solutions.
A cold laser is focused on the wrist
of a client of Laser Solutions in
Peoria. The laser can be focused on
certain points on a person’s body,
including the wrist, to help deplete
a person’s craving for nicotine, one
of several possible ways to stop
smoking that are available on the
market.
28
thePeorian.com