18 Aug Can Acupuncture Help You Quit Smoking?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cigarette smoking causes 480, 000 deaths in the US each year. Despite growing awareness regarding the dangers of tobacco, smoking is still highly prevalent among individuals over 18, and is extremely difficult to give up because of its addictiveness.

Is Acupuncture An Effective Solution?

While there’re several strategies used all over the world to help quit smoking, most of them come with problems of their own. For instance, using vapes or nicotine-free cigarettes can be addictive themselves and using them to give up smoking can actually lead to a new addiction.

With acupuncture, however, there’s no harmful side-effect to be wary of. In fact, it has plenty of positive effects on your health and can be quite effective in treating your addiction. While acupuncture doesn’t make you give up smoking instantly, it takes a holistic approach to produce positive results in the long run.

By managing cravings, jitters, restlessness, and mood swings that result in withdrawal symptoms once a person has taken the first step toward quitting, acupuncture helps in maintaining their overall health. It also helps them detoxify and relax as they begin their journey. Thus, by helping alter their habits and allowing them to make lifestyle adjustments, acupuncture has successful and long-lasting effects.

How Does Acupuncture Help in Giving Up Smoking?

Acupuncture strongly influences certain aspects of the nervous system, having both physiological as well as psychological effects. This helps in regulating your heart rate, mood, and stress levels. When used specifically for treating tobacco addiction, it’s tailored to target particular pressure points that help the body—and mind—forgo smoking.

For instance, auricular acupuncture involves the insertion of acupuncture needles into pressure points in the ear. The technique targets 1 to 5 ear pressure points, namely Shen Men, Liver, Kidney, Lung, and Sympathetic. When stimulated, they reduce the person’s withdrawal symptoms and also minimize their cravings for tobacco.

Another pressure point used in acupuncture therapy to help give up smoking is the “Tim Mee” point located just above the wrist crease on the inside of the arm. This pressure point is specifically stimulated for curbing tobacco addiction and helps in changing the way cigarettes taste to a smoker. The perceived change in taste helps significantly in reducing cravings and making the act of smoking less desirable than what it once used to be.

Our Verdict

While acupuncture alone wouldn’t make you quit smoking, when combined with other Traditional Chinese Medicine practices such as herbal therapy, acupressure, or cupping services in Los Angeles as it has a huge effect on your motivation and behavior.

This is where our team at MetaBody MetaMind comes in. Led by Dr. Roya Yazdani, a holistic nutritionist Los Angeles, provide a range of holistic health services to help you overcome your smoking addiction.

Call us at (310) 481-0045 to make an appointment!