Ancient Wisdom: Using Acupuncture To Stop Smoking

Those smokers who have failed to quit with help from all the nicotine substitutes, or have gone cold turkey, or even tried hypnosis to lick their smoking habit without success may be thinking they have run out of luck. But the ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture which is used to treat disease by restoring the body’s energy balance is no being offered as an aid in breaking the nicotine habit.

The Effects of Smoking
Traditonal Chinese medicine teaches that the human body is filled with the vital force Qi; the heat from tobacco smoke will, which is also a form of energy, warms and stimulates any dormant Qi. Having the Q1 stimulated gives the smoker what is commonly referred to as the “nicotine high”, a dopamine–induced mellowing followed by an adrenaline rush.

But the effects are only temporary; the Q1 returns to its dormant state, and the smoker develops cravings to light up and get the Q1 moving again. Further problems arise when the heat from the cigarette smoke damages the healthy “yin” state of the lungs, and lungs which cannot perform properly lead to other physical imbalances.

Using Acupuncture To Stop Smoking
An acupuncturist uses acupuncture to stop smoking by inserting several long thin needles in to the patient’s skin in prescribed parts of the body. The areas treated with acupuncture to stop smoking will be those related to the lungs, to clear them of smoke-related damage; the autonomic nervous system, to reduce cravings, and the liver, to detoxify the entire body from the toxins related to cigarette smoking.

The goal of using acupuncture to stop smoking is to calm the patient both physically and emotionally, eliminating his or her need for the effects of nicotine. Some practitioners of Western medicine believe that any positive effects of using acupuncture to stop smoking come from the brain releasing endorphins in response to the needle insertion. Endorphins are the body’s natural pain killers and if using acupuncture to stop smoking actually does increase their production, it might reduce nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms.

In 2006, however, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews published a comprehensive overview of more that a dozen research studies on the effectiveness of using acupuncture to stop smoking. The combined data found that using acupuncture to stop smoking was more effective in the early stages of quitting than trying to go cold turkey, but made little difference in the number of smokers who were able to kick the habit for good.

Many doctors will recommend using acupuncture to stop smoking and complementing it with other therapies, like behavior modification. If using acupuncture to stop smoking gives smokers even the slightest edge while withdrawing from nicotine, then it certainly deserves a place along side the gums and patches!