In a gruesome attempt to make chain smokers quit the habit of smoking cigarettes, a Croatian pensioner allegedly choked his patients in a bathroom until they fainted, Agence France-Presse reported.

Facing a possible prison term for "charlatanism," 69-year-old Petar Miro Zanki's list of victims included a former government minister and a local pop star, prosecutors said on Friday.

The perpetrator believed he had discovered an orthodox way of breaking his client's smoking habits. Among his techniques, the chiropractor used to cover his client's faces with a towel and blow cigarette smoke into their faces.

However, the self-proclaimed chiropractor's methods have caused outrage and raised questions, according to the Jutarnji List daily.

Another favored treatment was causing the victims to lose their breath by stimulating acupressure points of their necks, AFP reported.

"Two unsatisfied clients complained to prosecutors, saying Zanki had squeezed their necks until they passed out," AFP reported. "They said the method had failed to help them quit smoking."

AFP continued, "Operating out of his bathroom in the central coastal town of Trogir, Zanki lacked any necessary qualifications for carrying out his unconventional treatments, the prosecutor's office said in a statement."

"Charlatanism", which carries a potential prison sentence of up to six months, has been the offense Zanki has been charged with.

But some clients have come out in defense of Zanki's unusual methods, with a former agricultural minister and local celebrities saying they had positive experiences, according to local media.

Zanki charged his clients around $280 per session between 2011 and 2012 for these treatments, the prosecutors said.

Smoking was banned by Croatia, which joined EU last year, in all public places in 2009, AFP reported.

According to the World Health Organization, the Balkans is part of Europe's most determined smokers, with 30 to 40 percent of all adults hooked on the habit.