Q: Quit Smoking
Patient came in wanting to quit smoking. Patient was in her mid-50’s and had tried to quit smoking several times before.
The patient smoked anywhere from one to two packs of cigarettes daily and expressed at her initial intake that she was very motivated to quit smoking. It became apparent that the more stress the patient experienced in her life the more she smoked.
We asked the patient to pick a quit date and the day before this date to rid her entire house of cigarettes and ash trays. In addition, we asked her to exam when she smoked and replace this habit with another routine. We also encouraged the patient to have mints and hard candy readily available throughout her house to help with the oral fixation.
We soothed the Liver meridian to help alleviate stress. We also placed auricular acupuncture points to reduce cravings.
After three months of acupuncture one to three times weekly, the patient reported that she no longer had cravings and she was no longer smoking. The patient was very excited about her results.
We recommend to our patients to not only speak with their physician but to also join a support group for encouragement as they are trying to quit smoking.