Quit Smoking Acupuncture

It’s not yet a mainstream therapy, but quit smoking acupuncture might be what you’ve been looking for to help you kick cigarettes. A lot of people have heard of acupuncture, but don’t know exactly what it is. So, let’s take a look at the history of acupuncture as well as how it’s used to help folks kick the habit.

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture was developed in China 2,000 to 3,000 years ago. It’s an important part of traditional Chinese medicine.

In acupuncture, very thin needles are inserted into the body along what are called meridians, invisible channels along which the energy in our bodies flows.

Acupuncture is big business in the United States! The FDA estimates that about $500 million dollars are spent annually on acupuncture treatments for a number of conditions, usually post-operative pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and tennis elbow.

How Does Acupuncture Work?

No one really knows!

According to traditional Chinese medicine, we have channels in our bodies along which energy flows. Illness and other medical conditions are caused by this energy getting blocked—kind of like a pipe backing up. These problems can be helped by unblocking these channels, so our energy can flow freely.

Acupuncture is also supposed to stimulate or brains to release endorphins. These are hormones that make us feel good. For a lot of folks, smoking is an artificial way to feel good. Exercise is a better way to feel good. By stimulating us to release hormones, acupuncture makes the smoker feels less desire to smoke. Since he/she already feels good, why light up a cigarette?

Does Quit Smoking Acupuncture Work?

There are studies that say quit smoking acupuncture works and others that say it has no affect.

One of the studies came out in the journal, Preventive Medicine, in 2002. According to that report, acupuncture may actually help lessen your desire to smoke.

In that study, 46 smokers were followed for five years. 26 of the participants were given acupuncture treatments at points on the body that are thought to affect the lungs, airways, and mouth. 20 of the participants were also given acupuncture treatments, but the points treated were supposed to affect only the muscles and not the body organs. The idea of the study was to see if the group of 26 would have more success quitting smoking.

The participants in the test group (the ones who received the treatment affecting lungs, airways, and mouth) reported having less desire to smoke.

In addition to just asking them if they wanted to smoke less, the researches also looked at blood samples. There are a couple of chemicals that are found in the blood after smoking, cotinine and thiocyanate. The independent measurement of these chemicals supported what the participants had said. In other words, they weren’t lying! They actually did smoke less.

These were folks who were real smokers, too. Not just social smokers who light up a few cigarettes now and then. The average length of time a participant had smoked was 23 years. And they averaged 10 to 30 cigarettes a day.

These 46 smokers were followed for five years. Of the group of 26, 4 had quit smoking. Only 2 of the other group had quit.

Four seems like a small number, but that’s about 15%, which is very good for any type of smoking cessation program. Also, the group of 26 had 100% better results (4 who quit rather than 2), than the group of 20.

Not Everyone Agrees!

Not all studies have found that quit smoking acupuncture works.

The Department of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter did a literature review to see if any studies supported acupuncture as an effective quit smoking strategy. They concluded that there was no clear cut evidence that acupuncture worked.

So, as they say, the jury’s out! No one really knows. But in a way that doesn’t matter, because you’re only interested in one person quitting—you!

Types of Acupuncture

There are several types of acupuncture that are used to help people quit smoking.

One is the traditional type, where they insert long, thin needles into your body.

The other is more high-tech. Instead of needles, they use low-level, cold lasers.

Other methods use acupressure, where you massage the acupuncture point, instead of sticking the needle in it.

Conclusion

Keep an open mind! Even the experts disagree whether acupuncture is a valid treatment. As I said above, the only real concern is you. If quit smoking acupuncture helps you quit, then great!

One thing you might want to keep in mind. Acupuncture is supposed to lessen your desire to smoke. So, you might want to use this therapy along with other therapies, medications, nicotine replacement therapy, the taper method, or others. Often a combination of therapies that complement each other works best.

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