Stop Smoking With Acupuncture

I have been using acupuncture to help people stop smoking since 1987. I use two methods.

• Japanese acupuncture to increase your energy and help you relax.
• Ear acupuncture to reduce your cravings and ease the detoxification process.

Ear acupuncture has been proved in numerous studies to have a beneficial effect during detoxification and withdrawal from many substances, including heroin and cocaine. For smokers, it does substantially reduce most cravings, but not the habit. If you are smoking more than twenty cigarettes a day it should reduce your desire to smoke, perhaps down to wanting to smoke only three to five a day. It’s your job to make it through those few remaining cravings until you are through the withdrawal phase.

 

Stopping
The hardest part when you quit is the first twenty-four hours, but in fact the most important period is the first four days after stopping. It’s important to try staying the course without any nicotine at all for that time. After that, the body will have got over its physical addiction. There are other difficult phases, which we will discuss during the session.

For four days before and for four days after you stop smoking, I recommend that you cut tomatoes out of your diet, and all foods containing them. This is based on research that has demonstrated that chemicals in tomatoes stimulate the desire to smoke. Coffee, sweet fizzy drinks and alcohol are also likely to trigger your desire to smoke.

 

Frequency of Treatment
I run a set programme for smokers that I have refined over the years. This consists of six treatments.

• Two in the first week, ideally two days apart.
• Two follow up sessions one week apart
• Two more follow up sessions one month apart
• Ear acupuncture back up sessions on demand.

Ear acupuncture has a proven track record in detoxification and withdrawal. You are more than welcome to visit for one or more ‘mini-treatments’ with ear acupuncture during the first week of your course. Ear acupuncture is given in the waiting area and there is no need to disrobe.  The charge for this extra service is a nominal RM15 and you need to allow 30-40 minutes for each visit. Click here if you like to make an appointment.

 

Supplementation
I am very keen for people to use vitamin and mineral supplementation during the detox process. This includes a multivitamin, extra vitamin C, and a mineral supplement.

I also provide herbal teas which help the lungs and the detoxification process.

I recommend drinking extra pure water during this period, and vegetable juices such as carrot juice.

 

Feeling rotten!
It’s a common misconception that you should feel better as soon as you give up smoking. Unfortunately that is rarely the case, and it is more likely that you will feel rotten.

Imagine that giving up smoking is like rowing a boat away from the edge of a waterfall. At the moment you quit you have just changed direction and are rowing upstream. It’s tiring at first, and there’s a lot of splashing. In real terms, this means that you may feel weak, depressed or unwell. This should not last too long, and the acupuncture will help you through.

As you row further upstream progress becomes much easier and you will have time to look around at the beautiful scenery. You feel better in yourself, and can appreciate the benefits of not smoking, such as renewed senses of taste and smell.

 

Getting the benefits
The good news is that the health benefits begin almost immediately.

• In just 24 hours after your last cigarette, your blood pressure and pulse rate start to return to normal.
• Oxygen and carbon monoxide in the blood start to normalize.
• Within a week, your risk of heart attack begins to decrease.
• Sense of smell and sense of taste improve.
• Breathing gets easier.

 

Self-help tips
1. Analyze your smoking habits by determining when and why you smoke. It’s best to use a notebook for this and log your thoughts and feelings each time you light up. This will help you to devise strategies for those situations when you quit.

2. Make up your mind to quit.

3. Choose the day and quit on that day.

4. Discuss your aims with me when you book your appointment. It’s best to be a few hours into quitting when you come for your first session.

The majority of smokers who quit do it on their own; others are helped by a variety of methods, including acupuncture. No one way works for everyone. It may take several tries for smokers to quit. Persistence is required for success. If you don’t succeed at first, it doesn’t mean that you have failed forever. For all the reasons above, what’s important is that you try again as soon as possible.

 

Acupuncture and smoking
Acupuncture is an effective tool to help you stop smoking. It minimizes cravings, calms the nervous system and strengthens the will power. It only works if the person is ready to stop however, and willing to commit to the process.

Oran Kivity Holistic Services Sdn. Bhd.  2008