Copyright AFP 2017-2023. All rights reserved. Advertisements on social media, particularly Facebook, promote the “extraordinary” power of magnetic bracelets to stop smoking. However, the effectiveness of these bracelets has not been proven and tobacco experts have not seen any results with this method. More generally, magnetotherapy, which is based on the power of magnets, has not proven its effectiveness.
“Free yourself from tobacco with ClearStone! Our revolutionary magnetic bracelet helps you quit smoking naturally,” promises an advertisement posted by the company “Medically Health” on July 31 on Facebook. The post has received over 900 reactions and over 130 comments, such as this one: “I’ve been wearing them for a few weeks and the desire to smoke decreases over time. I highly recommend it!”
“Medically Health” claims in a video that their obsidian bracelet “naturally stimulates the brain’s neurotransmitters to quit smoking without feeling stressed.” “It is the simplest and most effective way to quit smoking,” affirms the online sales company. On their website, “Medically Health” highlights a “100% natural” solution that “uses high-intensity magnets to stimulate specific areas of the brain and trick nicotine cravings.” This company also sells an anti-migraine mask to apply on the eyes, as well as an anti-stretch mark cream, without further explanation of their active ingredients. When contacted by AFP Factuel on August 18, “Medically Health” stated that they could not give an interview.
Furthermore, from a commercial perspective, this French website does not meet the requirements set for online businesses to display their registration number in the trade and companies register (RCS) and the national unique register of companies (RNE) or individual identification number (VAT number) if applicable.
Another advertisement for a magnetic bracelet is circulating widely on Facebook, from the company Glame, which has shared a video that has been commented on over a thousand times. A woman testifies: “I smoked for over 15 years and tried everything to quit, without success. But since I discovered Glame’s anti-smoking bracelets, my life has completely changed! In just 6 days, I managed to quit smoking completely.”
On their website Glamefrance.fr, the company sells all sorts of miracle products, such as a “sleep aid device” that guarantees falling asleep in 15 minutes, or a “rejuvenating device” that promises to restore firm and toned skin.
Regarding their “anti-smoking” bracelet, Glame claims that “unlike traditional methods that only postpone the problem, the Glame bracelet contains powerful 4,500 Gauss magnets that stimulate specific areas of your brain with a magnetic field, making it believe it has received its usual dose of nicotine.” Similar advertisements are also circulating in English for American companies selling the same type of bracelets, such as the one published on Facebook on July 4. Other bracelets, available on Amazon and eBay, have also been promoted on Tik Tok and Twitter.
Unproven withdrawal properties
According to Professor Loïc Josseran, a researcher in public health and president of the anti-smoking alliance, interviewed by AFP on August 18, this method has “no scientific basis.” He explains, “Anyone who has undergone an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) exam, for example, can see that it has not prevented them from wanting to smoke!” He adds that “a magnetic wave has never acted on nicotine receptors.”
Furthermore, according to the professor, even if magnets had an effect on nicotine dependence, “they would not treat the psychological dependence, which is enormous with tobacco.” While nicotine dependence disappears after 3 to 4 months of withdrawal, he explains that psychological dependence on cigarettes “takes several months, or even several years, to disappear.”
Another tobacco specialist interviewed by AFP on August 18, Marie Van der Schueren, a tobacco expert at the University Hospital of Caen, also believes that “it is marketing, to my knowledge no scientific study has shown the effectiveness of this method.” However, she believes that “like all ineffective methods, this one may help 5 to 10% of users quit, those who are not dependent and could have quit on their own.”
This is also the opinion of Professor Josseran, who comments on the enthusiastic reviews of some users of magnetic bracelets online: “Unfortunately, we will find testimonials from people saying that it works, and among them, some are very sincere, because the placebo effect may suffice for someone who was already very determined to quit smoking.”
An unapproved method by the U.S. FDA
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved the method of magnetic bracelets as reliable methods for smoking cessation. Nancy Rigotti, head of the Tobacco Research and Treatment Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, stated, “I have never heard of these bracelets and, to my knowledge, no research validates this method.”
The FDA recommends nicotine replacement therapies such as patches, gum, sprays, and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). rTMS is performed in a hospital setting using powerful magnets placed in a helmet. This method has proven effective in depression, but it is still being studied for smoking cessation in France, according to Inserm, which details in this 2020 article: “the idea is to modulate neuronal excitability in specific regions of the cerebral cortex whose functioning is altered by addiction. Many protocols are being evaluated or are about to be evaluated.” However, magnetotherapy promoted by magnetic bracelet sellers is not scientifically recognized, as this Science et Vie article recalls, explaining that the only magnets that have achieved relative effectiveness are “those that produce a variable (or ‘pulsed,’ connected to an electrical source) magnetic field (…) to promote healing of non-consolidated fractures. In 2013, the Cochrane collaboration concluded that they also reduced pain related to osteoarthritis by 15 points (on a scale of 0 to 100).” In France, magnetotherapy, like other “alternative” or alternative medicines, is not scientifically or institutionally recognized.
Willpower alone is not enough against an “extremely strong” addiction
Nearly one-third of French people smoke. These latest figures show that tobacco consumption is no longer declining after years of significant decline, according to a study published in May under the auspices of the French Public Health Agency, on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day.
The study also shows that tobacco consumption remains much higher among the lowest-income groups of French people (one-third of them smoke daily), despite a slight rebound among the wealthier groups. According to Dr. Van der Schueren, “it is primarily people in financial precariousness who will be most tempted by ‘miracle’ methods like magnetic bracelets, due to the constant increase in the price of tobacco.” The economic argument is also highlighted on these online sales sites, such as “Medically Health,” which calculates, “If you smoke a pack a day at €10, that’s equivalent to €300 per month and €3,650 per year. In just 5 years, you will save €18,250!”
“The problem is that they are sold methods that will not be effective and will not give them comfort because cigarette addiction is extremely strong and often requires support,” regrets the specialist.
“By getting support, you can minimize weight gain and irritability,” she explains. “People think it’s a matter of willpower, they don’t realize that tobacco addiction is a chronic disease that they usually developed in adolescence.” Tobacconists recommend seeking help from a healthcare professional such as a specialist doctor, general practitioner, pharmacist, or even a nurse to get prescribed a nicotine substitute, reimbursed at 65% by health insurance.
“Even telephone follow-up, by calling 3639 or visiting
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2023-08-21 13:53:33
