Quit Smoking
What is Addiction To Smoking?
How Does Acupuncture Help Break the Cigarette Habit?
What Points Are Used?
Are There Herbs To Help Me Quit Smoking?
What Lifestyle and Dietary Changes Should I Make?
What is Addiction to Smoking?
More than 50 million Americans smoke, and nearly 7 million more use smokeless tobacco. The numbers are even higher in other parts of the globe, with worldwide statistics showing that one out of three men and women over the age of 18 are smokers.
The reasons to quit smoking are endless. Cigarettes have 4000 known poisons, any of which can kill in high enough doses. One drop of pure nicotine acid can kill a man. According to the CDC, tobacco kills more than 440,000 people each year, in the US alone. Not to mention the chronic illnesses and diseases that are associated with smoking. Emphysema, lung cancer, high blood pressure, shortness of breath, chronic cough, an increased frequency of colds and flu; these are just a few of the widely known risks associated with smoking.
It is estimated that most smokers will attempt to quit 2 or 3 times, or more, before finally kicking the habit. When conventional methods to quit smoking, such as nicotine gum or patches, have failed, smokers often look outside the mainstream and turn to alternative medicine.
How Does Acupuncture Help Break the Cigarette Habit?
Oriental Medicine aims to treat the specific symptoms that are unique to each individual using a variety of techniques such as acupuncture, Chinese herbs, bodywork, lifestyle/dietary recommendations and energetic exercises to restore imbalances found in the body.
Angie will do an interview to learn about your unique smoking habits and perform a physical examination, taking the pulse and observing the tongue. The emotional and physical symptoms that you are experiencing will help create a clear picture on which Angie can create a treatment plan specifically for you.
The acupuncture treatments will focus on the jitters, the cravings, the irritability, and the restlessness that people commonly complain about when they quit. It will also aid in relaxation and detoxification.
What Points Are Used?
Each patient is custom-treated according to his or her specific and unique diagnosis. Usually a combination of body acupuncture points and points on the ear are used that are believed to influence the organs and energetic pathways associated with smoking.
Commonly Used Points for Smoking Cessation include:
Ear points:
Shenmen
Kidney
Sympathetic
Lung Upper and Lung Lower
Hunger or Mouth
Body points: Tim Mee, LI4, LV3 and DU20.
Typical treatments last from 30 to 45 minutes, with the patient being treated two or three times a week. After removing the needles, ear press seeds are often applied to stimulate the points between treatments and reduce cravings.
Are There Herbs To Help Me Quit Smoking?
Often you are prescribed herbs or supplements to control cravings or withdrawal symptoms.
There are three areas to address for herbal support; dryness and tissue repair, irritability and cravings. The herbs are prescribed on a individual bases.
What Lifestyle and Dietary Changes Should I Make?
Exercise is encouraged and dietary and support systems are recommended to rid the body of toxins and avoid relapses. Get plenty of fresh fruit and vegetable juices and miso soup to neutralize and clear the blood of nicotine acid and to fortify blood sugar. Carrots, Carrot juice, celery, leafy green salads and citrus fruits promote body alkalinity and decrease cravings. Avoid junk food, sugar, chocolate, coffee and cooked spinach. They can upset blood sugar levels and increase blood acidity which can aggravate smoking-withdrawal symptoms. Remember, always drink lots of water.
For Your Free Consultation, Call Angie at (423)-839-4764
For Directions to Morristown and Seymour Clinic
