Acupuncture for smokers: lack of long-term therapeutic effect in a controlled study

Two types of acupuncture therapy, one aimed specifically at smoking withdrawal and the other aimed at enhancing relaxation, were compared with self-monitoring in 75 healthy men that wished to stop smoking. During the 2 weeks following treatment there was no significant difference in the adjusted mean daily smoking rates of the subjects receiving acupuncture therapy of the two types, but their combined rate was significantly lower than the rate of the subjects in the self-monitoring group. However, at 1, 3, and 6 months following treatment there were no longer statistically significant differences between the three treatment groups in the adjusted mean smoking rates. At no time were there significant differences between the three treatment groups in the proportion of subjects that stopped smoking during the study. Although acupuncture appears to have become a popular treatment for cigarette smokers, its effectiveness remains to be proven in the treatment of tobacco addiction.