Summary
Sadek al-Assaad called a group of heavy smokers Wednesday, reminding them to buy cigarettes.
While the psychotherapy-based program has been practiced across the world for more than 30 years, Assaad is the only licensed Allen Carr therapist in the Arab world.
As new tobacco products – notably electronic cigarettes – promise to help smokers kick the habit while still getting their nicotine highs, the Allen Carr method renounces all forms of nicotine dependence, including vaporizers like e-cigarettes.
Only two participants have relapsed into smoking, Assaad claimed.
Assaad is firmly against e-cigarettes, which have come into vogue as a way for longtime smokers to get nicotine "highs" without suffering the harmful effects of inhaling smoke.
This week, a group of more than 50 leading scientists from around the world cautioned the World Health Organization against classifying smokeless e-cigarettes as tobacco products. E-cigarettes, they claim, can help reduce the 5 million deaths attributed to tobacco use each year.
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