• Quit Smoking

  • Can Acupuncture Be A Way Out Of Smoking?

    There are various methods designed to help a smoker to quit smoking. The trouble with most of them is that they can become addictive themselves but only less harmful. Acupuncture, however, has no negative side effects and can even have some other positive side effects instead. Clinic study shows that even if acupuncture does not instantly make a person quit smoking, is effective in controlling and manipulating the mechanisms of addiction itself. It can alter a person’s habits and this can be a very powerful victory in the quest of quitting smoking. The National Acupuncture Detoxification Association published evidence showing the effectiveness of acupuncture in managing addictions. People struggling to quit tobacco smoking have shown less irritability, better moods, reduced cravings and better sleep as a result of acupuncture.

    How Does Acupuncture Work to Quit Smoking?

    Research on acupuncture has always produced inconclusive results but more recent findings, instead of trying to explain the complex workings of acupuncture, have been more successful in showing the effects of acupuncture. Acupuncture has been shown to influence aspects of the nervous system and its ability to regulate things like stress, heart rate and mood.

    Acupuncture, in general, is a technique that can work on virtually any addiction and not only tobacco addiction but when acupuncture is meant to quit smoking, there are some procedures that are tailored for it. Addiction can take several forms including mental, emotional and physical and thus the addiction has to be fought on all fronts. One of the most common acupuncture techniques, called auricular acupuncture, involves inserting fine needles into acupuncture points in the ear. These pressure points are shen men, liver, lung, kidney and sympathetic points. Sometimes, tiny beads are held in place with tape around these points in the ear as a way of self-medication. When these points are stimulated, they can lead to reduced cravings and reduction of other withdrawal symptoms.

    There is another point, located on the inside arm, above the wrist crease, called the "Tim Mee" which is used specifically to curb smoking. It achieves this by altering the way cigarettes taste. This can make smoking a lot less desirable to the smoker.