AB007. The effect of auricular acupuncture and acupressure in smoking cessation

Background: Smoking is often associated with many types of cancer, increased cardiovascular and pulmonary morbidity. In 2006, it has been estimated that the annual number of deaths due to smoking approached 5,000,000, and is expected to double by 2030. The practice of auricular acupuncture is based on the theory that there are certain points in the ear flap corresponding to major organ systems of the human body and can be manipulated to lead to a therapeutic effect on the corresponding organ. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of auricular acupuncture for assisting people with the aim of stopping smoking.

Methods: A review of the literature has been done in PubMed database on the auricular acupuncture method for efficacy of the conservative treatment for smoking cessation with Keywords: auricular, acupuncture, smoking and cessation.

Results: The effectiveness of using acupuncture reported that is close to 45%, which is on par with other pharmacological methods. According to Ballal et al., the execution of acupuncture to quit smoking for six weeks produced a success rate of 50.1%, 45.5% of subjects reduced their consumption to 5 cigarettes and 4.3% failed to reduce smoking. Furthermore, Hackett et al. reported success rate of 50% after 12 months of electric acupuncture to the ear. After using acupuncture treatment in 514 persons, Choy et al. reported a success rate of 88%, and relapse rate of 31% in the second year of treatment.

Conclusions: The auricular acupuncture is effective in smoking cessation and should be considered as an alternative to help smokers, especially those whose previous attempts using conventional methods were in vain. Also the combination with existing methods seems ideal. The survey results also showed that the therapeutic effects of acupuncture in smoking cessation is similar to that of nicotine gum method and behavioral therapy, suggesting that acupuncture is neither superior nor inferior to other methods for smoking cessation.

Keywords: Smoking cessation; acupuncture; smoking