Acupuncture to quit smoking

Can acupuncture help one stop smoking? 

Only if you believe in Santa Claus! Acupuncture is a procedure still looking for a disease it can cure. The technique of acupuncture has been around for centuries. This oriental art is now being glamorized in the West as a cure for everything under the sun.

The technique requires placement of needles in specific parts of the body. There are many reports about acupuncture and how it can help one discontinue smoking. Most reports on acupuncture are anecdotal and are made by people who sell this therapy.

The people who recommend acupuncture claims that after 5-10 sessions one can quit smoking. Moreover, one does not even develop withdrawal symptoms.

So far there are few studies on acupuncture and smoking. In summary, the results from recent studies show that acupuncture does absolute crap. The only common theme in the studies was that all the people who enrolled in the studies lost thousands of dollars and still continued to smoke.

There is not one piece of solid evidence that acupuncture can help anyone stop smoking. While some individuals may have quit smoking after acupuncture, this was more likely related to good luck more than anything else. What no one ever mentions is that acupuncture is also a big rip off. A single session can easily cost anywhere from $40-$100 and almost everyone undergoes 10-20 sessions. Nothing is ever cured in one session.

Final point

If you want to quit smoking, avoid crap therapies like acupuncture. For those who have no money, cold turkey is still the best method of quitting smoking. For those who have money to waste, go visit china and see for yourself how many Chinese continue to smoke –despite having cheap acupuncture all over the country.