A report by Peter Williams

If somebody told you that they could stop a chain-smoker smoking in less than a week with no pain and little craving, you could hardly be blamed for being sceptical. But what if they also said that they could treat addictions to alcohol, barbituates, cocaine and even heroin with the very same black box...

Peter Williams suspends disbelief and investigates these claims - made by a Scottish doctor, Meg Patterson, who runs an addiction clinic in Sussex.

The programme looks at the clinical and scientific evidence that is gathering about the black box which, it is revealed, does no more than generate an electrical current with a wide range of characteristics.

Feature p 17

Brookes on... page 77