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.
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.
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
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
Killeen
TK, Haight B, Brady K, Herman J, Michel Y, Stuart G, Young S.
The effect of auricular acupuncture on psychophysiological
measures of cocaine craving. Issues Ment Health Nurs
2002 Jul-Aug;23(5):445-59
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.
