| Whenever Alyse Leavitt
visits her doctor, the guy in white always asks a question
Leavitt never likes to answer. Does she still smoke? Leavitt,
25, has been smoking since she was 16 and always has to answer
that yes, she does. That
is, until now. Thanks to a melding of ancient Eastern medicine
and modern technology, Leavitt hasn't touched a cigarette since
March 11.
That was the day Leavitt sat in a
comfortable recliner and tried to relax as the reddish glare of
a laser beam was trained along the skin on her ears, nose, face,
arms, fingers and hands.
When it was over, Leavitt was
astonished to find that she no longer craved nicotine.
"Believe me, I didn't believe it at
all," she says, "and I've talked to a lot of other people who
don't believe it."
| In
laser therapy, the pinpoint of a low-level, cold
laser -- rather than acupuncture needles -- is
focused on points of the body that, as acupuncture
theory goes, are associated with the urge to
smoke. |
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....the laser, aimed on acupressure points along
the face, ears, arms, fingers and wrists,
triggers a release of endorphins similar to that
caused by ingesting nicotine.
...most clients find the
craving for nicotine disappearing after one
treatment. ...clients also receive a follow-up
treatment a few days later, and may have another
treatment weeks or months later if needed. |
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| "The
laser will not break the habit," the
technician said, "So
we work with clients and teach them how to
do that."
That can mean behavior and lifestyle changes,
and involves the client remaining motivated. "We tell everyone that we call it
a partnership between you and us." Leavitt says she
tried other smoking cessation methods, including
stopping cold turkey, nicotine patches and
nicotine gum -- "That was so disgusting I
couldn't do it," she adds -- and none of them
worked.
Finally, she asked
her doctor about laser treatment.
"He told me he has
10 patients so far who have done it and eight of
them have not picked up a cigarette since,"
Leavitt says.
"We've had a lot of
skeptics come through the door, believe me, but
who walk out believers." "They
will come back and say, 'I doubted this from the
get-go, and can't believe that now I'm actually
smoke free.' " |
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Nonetheless, it's working well for Leavitt, who
was happy to have something different to tell
her doctor. "I'm sitting there and waiting and
waiting, and finally he just said: 'What are you
laughing about? What are you so happy about?'
"I'm, like, 'Ask me.'
He sat there for a second and said, 'Did you
quit smoking?' I said, 'Yes,' and he said, 'All
right now. Tell me about it.' "
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