Acupuncture has been widely used in the management of patients
addicted or habituated to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes or overeating.
There is quite an extensive literature on the subject, particularly
in the case of opiates. Acupuncture is used in the withdrawal
of addictive substances in one of two general ways: 1) it works
non-specifically to relieve the anxiety and/or depression which
accompany withdrawal; 2) it may specifically combat the manifestations
of withdrawal, including chills, sweating, intestinal cramps,
pain, and nausea.
According
to Prof. Han Jisheng of the Neuroscience Research Institute
in Beijing, "In the recent decade it was found that electroacupuncture
(EA) can be used for the treatment of heroin addicts with high
efficiency. Animal and human studies revealed that EA of high
frequency (100Hz) is very efficient to suppress the withdraw
syndrome (physical dependence), whereas that of low frequency
(2Hz) is very effective to reduce craving (psychic dependence)."
Zhang B, Luo F, Liu
C. Treatment of 121 heroin addicts with Han’s
acupoint nerve stimulator. Zhongguo Zhong Xi Yi Jie
He Za Zhi 2000 Aug;20(8):593-5.. "OBJECTIVE: To observe
the Han's Acupoint Nerve Stimulator (HANS) for the treatment
of heroin addicts. METHODS: One hundred and eighty-one cases
of heroin addiction with obvious withdrawal syndrome were selected.
Among them, 121 cases were randomly assigned to be treated with
HANS, and the other 60 cases was taken as the control group.
In the HANS group, patients were treated with HANS from the
second day of their admission in the treatment center (when
the withdrawal symptoms were obvious), they were given 4 treatments
(30 min each) a day at the first 3 days, twice a day for 3 more
days, and once a day 7 days later. The total treatment lasted
15 days. The acupoints selected were Hegu (LI4) and Laogong
(PC 8) on one hand, Neiguan (PC 6) and Waiguan (SJ 5) on the
other hand, and Zusanli (ST 36), Sanyinjiao (SP 6) on both legs.
The frequency was 2/100 Hz, the intensities of the stimulations
were 12-16 mA on arms and 16-26 mA on legs. All the manipulations
in the control group were the same as in the HANS group, except
that electrodes were placed at the acupoints without any electrical
stimulation. RESULTS: There was no significant difference (P
< 0.05) on the 8 indices (heart rate, body weight, sleeping
time, chilling, pain, anxiety, catarrh and craving) observed
between the 2 groups before treatment. After the HANS treatment,
all the 8 indices improved significantly as compared with those
observed before treatment (P < 0.01), while in the control
group only a moderate improvement was observed. CONCLUSION:
HANS is obviously effective in relieving the withdrawal syndrome
in heroin addicts."
He, D., Berg J. E.,
Hostmark, A. T., (1997) Effects of Acupuncture on Smoking
Cessation or Reduction for Motivated Smokers. Preventative
Med 26(2):208?14. 46 patients who wanted to quit smoking were
blinded to acupuncture at anti-smoking points and acupuncture
at unrelated points (control). Daily consumption of cigarettes
decreased in the acupuncture group more than the control. At
the end of the trial 31% of acupuncture patients quit smoking
compared to 0% of controls.
Avants
SK, Margolin A, Holford TR, Kosten TR. A randomized
controlled trial of auricular acupuncture for cocaine dependence.
Arch Intern Med 2000 Aug 14-28;160(15):2305-12. “Findings
from the current study suggest that acupuncture shows promise
for the treatment of cocaine dependence. Further investigation
of this treatment modality appears to be warranted.” 82
subjects.
Bier
ID, Wilson J, Studt P, Shakleton M. Auricular acupuncture,
education, and smoking cessation: a randomized, sham-controlled
trial. Am J Public Health 2002 Oct;92(10):1642-7: "OBJECTIVES:
This study examined the effect of acupuncture alone and in combination
with education on smoking cessation and cigarette consumption.
METHODS: We prospectively studied 141 adults in a quasi-factorial
design using acupuncture, sham acupuncture, and education. RESULTS:
All groups showed significant reductions in smoking and posttreatment
cigarette consumption, with the combined acupuncture-education
group showing the greatest effect from treatment. The trend
continued in follow-up; however, significant differences were
not maintained. Greater pack-year history (i.e. the number of
years smoking multiplied by baseline number of cigarettes smoked
per year, divided by 20 cigarettes per pack) negatively correlated
with treatment effect. Trend analysis suggested 20 pack-years
as the cutoff point for this correlation. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture
and education, alone and in combination, significantly reduce
smoking; however, combined they show a significantly greater
effect, as seen in subjects with a greater pack-year history."
Otto
KC. Acupuncture and substance abuse: a synopsis, with
indications for further research. Am J Addict. 2003
Jan-Feb;12(1):43-51. "Alcoholism and drug addiction are
rampant in our society. Although current treatment works better
than nothing, the search for more effective interventions continues.
Incorporating acupuncture into existing programs offers a promising
approach. Proponents say ear acupuncture alleviates acute opiate
withdrawal, reduces craving for all substances, and helps retain
patients in treatment. Over 25 years of clinical experience
has supported this claim, but scientific research has been sketchy,
complicated by technical difficulties and often poorly designed.
This article reviews the literature and offers a neurochemical
model for future research."
Lacey
JM, Tershakovec AM, Foster GD. Acupuncture for the treatment
of obesity: a review of the evidence.
Tang
X. 75 cases of simple obesity treated with auricular
and body acupuncture.
J Tradit Chin Med. 1993 Sep;13(3):194-5.
Zhan
J. Observations on the treatment of 393 cases of obesity
by seed pressure on auricular points. J Tradit Chin
Med. 1993 Mar;13(1):27-30.
Asamoto
S, Takeshige C. Activation of the satiety center by
auricular acupuncture point stimulation. Brain Res
Bull. 1992 Aug;29(2):157-64.
Zhang
Z. Weight reduction by auriculo-acupuncture--a report
of 110 cases. J Tradit Chin Med. 1990 Mar;10(1):17-8.