Government Funds Quit Smoking Drugs, Endangers Health?

KELOWNA, BC, October 24, 2011 HealthPoint Laser Clinic Inc. (“HealthPoint”) has appealed to the Provincial Government to re-examine its policy on providing a free three month supply of nicotine cessation drugs to the public.

Scott Fader, a registered kinesiologist who founded HealthPoint Laser Clinic in Kelowna in 2009, has successfully treated over 600 smokers with a non-invasive, painless form of laser therapy, achieving a more than a 90% success rate. Fader says that the government’s policy encourages smokers to replace one drug with another and exposes the user to dangerous, even lethal side effects. Additionally, Fader cites the relatively low rate of quitting and staying quit using nicotine replacement products. He has approached the Liberal government with this information in an appeal to include safe, highly effective alternative therapies to nicotine replacement in its funding program, but his efforts have so far fallen on deaf ears.

“If smokers really understood what they are putting in their bodies with nicotine replacement products and drugs like Champix and Zyban, they would run. Pharmacies are experiencing heavy demand because the government is now subsidizing the costs to the patient, although some restrictions apply. Many drug stores have run into shortages of the products, which means that those smokers who have started the quitting process with the standard four week supply may not receive more in time and will be at risk to start smoking again.” Fader notes, “Based on the methods that are being funded, it is highly questionable if the benefits of attempting to quit smoking outweigh the long-term effects of these drugs. The tragic thing is that safe, more effective alternatives exist and these are being ignored by the Ministry of Health.”

To underscore his point, Fader cites Sonal Singh, an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and lead author of a study conducted on Champix. Dr. Singh and his colleagues reviewed data from 14 clinical trials and found that patients taking Champix faced a 72-per-cent increased risk of heart-related adverse events. “This is just like driving a car without brakes,” he said. “Going forward, I don’t know how we will convince our patients to take Champix.  For what? To increase your risk for heart attack?”[i]

It would be one thing if these products actually worked. However, the success rates are actually shocking low. According to multiple peer-reviewed studies, the success rates are as follows:

Nicotine gum – 7%[ii]

Nicotine patch – 7%[iii]

Nicotine inhaler – 13%^[iv]

Zyban (Wellbutrin) – 15%^[v]

Champix (Varenicline) – 23%^[vi]

Fader, after meeting with local MLA Steve Thompson (Kelowna Mission), had high hopes that the laser industry would be regulated and included in the funding. Thompson raised the subject with the Minister of Health whose office sent an email to Fader stating that, “At this time, laser therapy has not been a proven and effective means of quitting smoking.” Fader challenges this by pointing to his database of over 600 smokers who have successfully quit with his laser treatment. Fader follows up on every client who comes through the program and keeps records on all of them. “I’m happy to make my data available to the Ministry for verification. The government is wasting taxpayer money funding nicotine replacement products (NRPs) like the patch or nicotine gum which are known to have a 93% failure rate.”[vii] He adds, “And if it is your second time or more trying NRPs, clinical studies show the failure rate is close to 100%.”^[viii]

Prior to September 30^th, the first day of the funding, many medical doctors posted on a provincial government forum, stating that the idea was flawed. "As a physician, I am a bit ambivalent about your decision to fund nicotine replacement, as along with the drug there is also need for counseling and follow-up," posted one respondent on BC's new open information website.^[ix]

Dr. Lee Pulos, a clinical psychologist and Clinical Assistant Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of British Columbia (UBC), stated that among his patients, Champix has “among the worst behavioural and physical side effects of any drug I have come across.”

That is no surprise. A recent study found that Champix was 18 times more likely to be associated with violent behaviour than any of the other 484 drugs in the study – making it the worst offender of all in terms of aggressive reactions.^[x]

Ideally, Fader would like to see the government implement a two-step approach. First, the regulation of the laser industry ensuring only qualified health professionals are conducting the therapy, and funding to include this highly successful and natural form of treatment. “There is a major shift toward healthier, alternative medicines that should be included in the government’s plan to help people quit smoking. Going forward, this could save millions for the BC healthcare system which already accounts for over 40% of the annual provincial budget.”