Capitola Acupuncture of Santa Cruz

Stop Smoking Program

Smoking Cessation: The Stop Smoking Program

Acupuncture helps people to stop smoking. It eliminates cravings, reduces withdrawal symptoms, and relieves tension. Acupuncture treatments build energy and give a sense of well-being. Western science confirms that acupuncture treatments change levels of chemicals in the body and regulate the nervous system. The treatments trigger the release of natural chemicals, including endorphins, which reduce a smoker's cravings, ease withdrawal symptoms, and increase relaxation. The protocol is a total of  four acupuncture treatments with two consecutive treatments the first week and two consecutive treatments the following week.  Acupuncture is a powerful tool for smoking cessation and often works where other methods have failed.  Acupuncture is successfully used as a detoxification method at over 100 different clinics in the United States and is successfully used for smoking cessation in at least 25 other countries.

Stop Smoking?

It’s good to be a quitter!  Letting go of old habits can be very difficult when they are physically addictive.  Acupuncture makes this process easier and my special triple-acupuncture technique has an 80% success rate.  Years ago, this treatment was accidentally discovered when a patient received acupuncture for surgical anesthesia purposes.  Following surgery, the patient discovered he was no longer addicted to drugs and lacked the urges to take them.  The acupuncture points have been applied to the stop smoking program with excellent results.  Patients do not suffer from urges (“nic fits”) and do not get side effects such as excess hunger, headaches, and depression.  I love this program, it only takes four acupuncture visits: two consecutive days the first week and two the second week.  Patients often see me years later and tell me their story of having left this old habit behind.  Now that is a good feeling!

Acupuncture

An acupuncturist stimulates areas of low electrical resistance, called acupoints, in order to restore harmony and balance to the body.  The insertion of hair-thin needles rarely causes discomfort.  In fact, many patients fall asleep for the 15 to 45 minute treatment period while others experience deep relaxation.  During treatment, the body re-aligns its distribution of bio-electric energy to achieve homeostasis - the natural drive to balance the body’s temperature, fluid, and nervous system.  An acupuncturist may also stimulate acupoints with heat, suction (cupping), pressure (acu-pressure), or a gentle eletrical current (electroacupuncture).

Teeth and Gums

Western clinical studies demonstrate that smoking compromises wound healing, increases gum pocket depth, and leads to the loss of hard and soft tissue attachment (tooth socket bone deterioration and gum recession).  As a result, smoking compromises gum healing after surgery, leads to bad breath, increases the risk of periodontitis, and significantly increases dental implant failure rates. The NIH has stop smoking information at the following link: Smoking Cessation.

These risk factors, along with the risk of lung and heart disease, are primary reasons to utilize the acupuncture stop smoking program.