Can acupuncture help someone quit smoking? Acupuncture can be used to treat people with addictions like smoking. Acupuncture is usually a last resort for people who want to quit smoking. "They have attempted...
Acupuncture is usually a last resort for people who want to quit smoking. "They have attempted to quit previously without success but now have the motivation to do what it takes to finally stop the habit," says Annie Sturman, a licensed acupuncture physician who has helped patients with illnesses for the past 20 years. The reasons people seek treatment to quit smoking through acupuncture is usually because they have health issues related to smoking. Ultimately, one has to have the desire to quit and not want to quit to please someone else. Acupuncture is a technique in which very thin needles of varying lengths are inserted through the skin to treat a variety of conditions.
Smoking can cause many illnesses such as atherosclerosis, chronic lung disease and lung cancer. The acupuncture treatment used to help patients quit depends on what specialist a person sees, but all patients have to visit the acupuncture specialist first to identify behaviors, habits and triggers that lead to smoking. After that session, then the individual returns for another session, which involves a standard five-point protocol that an acupuncturist does on the ear, says Sturman. This 5-point protocol treatment is supposed to exert a constant mini-stimulus to special points. These points are helpful in reducing withdrawal symptoms. After each session, a drink of green herbal tea is given to help rid the body of nicotine. "Green tea in general helps detoxify the liver; the quicker you get the nicotine out of the body, the sooner the person can replace the habit with something healthy," she says. Exercise is encouraged and dietary recommendations are given.
A study was conducted by the American Cancer Society, which followed 46 people for five years. Twenty-six received acupuncture treatments at points selected to affect smoking related organs such as the lungs, airways, and mouth. Twenty people in a control group received acupuncture points that were related to skeletal and muscular systems assumed not to have any effect on smoking. The first group reported smoking less and had a decreased desire to smoke. Also, the study found the blood levels for smoking-related chemicals were lower for this group than in the control group for eight months after treatment. The control group did not reduce their smoking or desire to smoke.
Supposedly after an acupuncture treatment, "cigarettes do not taste the same," says Al stone, a licensed acupuncturist at beyondwellbeing.com. "Cigarettes taste like a wet ashtray." Acupuncture treatments help to decrease the physical cravings for tobacco, Sturman claims. It lessens the symptoms of withdrawal and has a generally sedative effect on the nervous system. According to Steve Phillips, a licensed acupuncturist at acufinder.com, beta-endorphin, a natural hormone, which causes physical relaxation and reduces sensitivity to pain, is released by the acupuncture treatment. Weight gain is not a problem when getting acupuncture treatments because acupuncture points that reduce the craving for tobacco also help to control the craving for food, says Phillips. Acupuncture is helpful for a lot of addictions. According to The World Health Organization, there are over 40 disorders that respond favorably to acupuncture.
