Why Auricular Therapy Helps People Quit Smoking

I have been asked several times how it is that Auricular Therapy actually works to help people quit smoking. 

This is a great question.  After all, let’s consider some facts about nicotine addiction -

• Studies have shown that it is as difficult to quit smoking as it is to quit taking heroin.
• 90% of those who quit smoking will relapse.
• Withdrawal from nicotine can cause dizziness, nausea, constipation, gas, increased appetite, anxiety, depression, trouble sleeping through the night, problems concentrating, coughing and a sensation of tightness in the chest, among other things.

The cards are definitely stacked against a smoker who wants to quit, so it is a fair question to ask how any one treatment can help a smoker through this difficult process.

First of all, Auricular Therapy isn’t like so many of the other treatments that are available in that it doesn’t replace one form of nicotine with another.

Patches, gum, electronic cigarettes all just deliver nicotine to the body in a slightly different form, whereas to kick the smoking habit, the ex-smoker must go through the withdrawal symptoms.  It is important to realize that the withdrawal symptoms are caused by the nicotine.  Therefore, handing an ex-smoker nicotine gum isn’t really addressing anything, is it?

Auricular Therapy is safe and effective.  There are no side effects.  This is important, as I’ve seen some drugs that were marketed as drugs to help smokers quit that were later shown to be quite dangerous. 

Auricular Therapy is FDA-approved as a method to help smokers quit smoking.  A practitioner pinpoints exact spots in the patient’s ear that have been demonstrated to help suppress the sensation of the cravings.  At the same time, different points are stimulated that boost a patient’s respiratory system.  The procedure works on a similar basis as acupuncture, except that no needles are used.

In my practice, I give every patient a copy of Allen Carr’s Quitting Smoking the Easy Way as part of the cost of the service.  I’ve found that if my patients receive the treatment and read the book, we can achieve an 80% success rate - wonderful!  And it feels wonderful to be able to assist patients to kick such a deadly habit - one that many have been fighting for years.

Auricular Therapy at my office costs $100.  At the price of today’s smokes, This is about 2 - 3 weeks of moderate smoking.   Soon, the money saved can be used for more healthy pursuits!

If you or if someone you love would like to receive this treatment, or if you have questions about it, feel free to call my office at (314) 963-9050.

Dr. Dustan Mattingly, DC