Can acupuncture help you to stop smoking?
Let’s face it – a lot of people are put off acupuncture due to fear of needles. But, if that’s the way you feel, then maybe it’s time to think again – having acupuncture done is nothing like having an injection or a blood test, and in fact many people find the experience surprisingly relaxing, almost akin to having a massage.
So how does acupuncture work, and how can it help you to stop smoking?
The principles of acupuncture are based on a holistic approach to health, which, amazingly, have been refined over two thousand years in the East, and is as much about the maintenance of health as the management of disease, through improving the overall wellbeing of the patient.
According to traditional Chinese philosophy, our health is dependent on the motivating energy of the body known as qi, which moves in a smooth and balanced way through channels beneath the skin. This flow of qi can be disturbed by many factors, including the physical, mental and emotional. By inserting fine needles into these channels of energy, the acupuncturist can stimulate the body’s own healing response and help to restore its natural balance.
Part of the approach taken by acupuncturists in the treatment of smoking, is to understand what imbalance in the body has driven the patient towards smoking in the first place. It could be that smoking was initiated as a response to stress, for example. Acupuncture aims to remove the causes of smoking, such as stress and dysfunction, and prepare and strengthen the body for doing without nicotine.
But does acupuncture really help you to give up smoking? It seems that the jury is still out on this one, and there does not seem to be any conclusive evidence one way or the other, although, anecdotally, many people say that receiving acupuncture has helped them to give up. In this case, it seems that the only thing to do is to give it a try, and see if it works for you.
Make sure that the acupuncturist you consult is properly accredited, for example, in the UK this will be The British Acupuncture Council, in the US The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, and in Australia The Australian Medical Acupuncture College.
Filed under: Ways to Quit
