AP in Detoxification / Withdrawal
WITHDRAWAL FROM SMOKING
Ballal_SG; Khawaji YN (1992) Auricular stimulation and AP as an adjuvant to an anti-smoking programme: analysis of the results of a 1-year experience. Tuber Lung Dis Dec 73(6):396. Dept of Family and Community Med, College of Med and Med Sciences, King Faisal Univ, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Friedman_J (1992) Auricular AP for smoking [letter]. AETRIJ 17(2):149-150.
Jiang_A; Cui M (1994) Analysis of therapeutic effects of AP on abstinence from smoking. JTCM Mar 14(1):56-63. Inst of AP & Moxibustion, China Acad of TCM, Beijing. 1. AP has the same problems as other ways to help abstinence from smoking: unpredictable immediate effects, gradual decrease of therapeutic effects as time passes, and relapse. Research without a follow-up study is of little clinical significance. 2. Gilbey V et al noted that abstinence rates of all the methods have been 20-35%, and the effective rates are circa 45%; this is close to the mean long-term effects reported in this paper. 3. Many researchers noted that AP helped many smokers who had failed to quit smoking by other methods. Research also indicated that the therapeutic effects of AP on abstinence from smoking are similar to those of nicotine chewing gum and behaviour therapy, suggesting that AP is neither superior nor inferior to other methods in stopping smoking. These methods can complement each other. 4. Most smokers who wanted to quit found it difficult to accept the methods used in the past; this led to unsatisfactory therapeutic effects. In general, AP is painless, non-traumatic, without untoward reactions. It inhibits withdrawal symptoms (the abstinence syndrome) and is cheap, simple and easily accepted by smokers. AP can be tried when other methods fail.