According to the American Lung Association, cigarette smoking is the most important source of preventable morbidity and mortality worldwide. It is responsible for one in five deaths in the US, and in 1999, over 440,000 deaths were attributed to cigarette smoking. Annual smoking related health care costs were estimated over $150 billion dollars in the years from 1995–1999. Smoking cessation can be very difficult due to the addictive qualities of nicotine. While it is estimated that 70% of smokers want to stop, and 34% try to stop each year, only 2.5% succeed. Popular pharmaceutical aids for smoking cessation include nicotine patches, gum, and antidepressant medication such as bupropion hydrochloride. The highest success rates for smoking cessation are seen with a combination of pharmaceutical support and behavioral counseling, yet cessation rates at one year after completion of a program are still only 20-25%.
The idea of acupuncture as a form of addiction treatment happened almost by chance in the early 1970s, when a patient who happened to be suffering withdrawal symptoms from an opium addiction reported his symptoms disappeared after receiving electroacupuncture prior to surgery.
Since that time, more than 200 acupuncture detoxification programs have been established in the United States and Europe. One of the most common addiction-related uses for acupuncture is to help people quit smoking. Unfortunately, few studies have been conducted in this area; those, which have been published, have shown little proof as to how acupuncture helps smokers break their addiction. Not to undermine the effectivity of acupuncture in relation to smoking cessation, however, the studies that have been carried out to ascertain actually how acupuncture works in general are sadly inconsistent and vary in style and type, yet it is commonly understood and recognized that acupuncture can be extremely effective in many difference scenarios.
Typically when approaching the subject of addiction, one has to consider the facts as they concern each individual. Nicotine addiction, as smoking is generally referred to in clinical terms, can have many root causes. Breaking the habit follows a common pattern that is referred to in Chinese Medicine as “root and branch”. The root is why a person starts to smoke, and the branch is the fact that the habit of smoking has caused a physiological dependence on the substance of nicotine. When a patient ceases smoking in an attempt to quit, there are physiological manifestations such as cravings, which make the initial part of the cessation attempt extremely challenging. The patient will vacillate between physical and mental cravings and will often resort to smoking again. Acupuncture can help with the initial process, by stimulating the body in a way that reduces the unpleasantness of the withdrawal period, boosting the body’s qi and helping balance the sympathetic/parasympathetic response to withdrawal.
Often herbs can be prescribed or supplements recommended to control cravings or withdrawal symptoms. Exercise is encouraged and dietary recommendations are given (foods to avoid and foods to be included during the withdrawal phase). Sometimes a small metal pellets are tacked onto a specific point on the ear to reduce cravings, so that the patient can squeeze it and stimulate the acupuncture point whenever he or she feels a craving.
The function of acupuncture within this context is to ease the process of quitting smoking. There is no silver bullet and the success of the patient in giving up nicotine always depends on his or her motivation. Willpower is the most important element involved in any treatment, but acupuncture is there to make the experience more tolerable and therefore more successful.
Can Acupuncture be Harmful?
In one study, doctors and physical therapists who used acupuncture for a variety of medical problems were asked if the treatment had ever caused a patient any harm. Out of 10,000 acupuncture treatments given, there wasn’t a single episode of serious harm. Minor side effects did occur, but these were fairly rare. For example, acupuncture caused bleeding in about 1 out of every 30 treatments, and pain in about 1 out of every 90 treatments.
Another study looked at 34,407 acupuncture treatments given by professional acupuncturists. None of the treatments caused any serious harm. Again, minor side effects did occur, including mild bruising in about 1 in 60 treatments, pain in about 1 in 80 treatments, and bleeding in about 1 in 250 treatments.