A Preliminary Comparison of the Efficacy of Auricular Acupuncture, Transdermal Nicotine Patch and Combination Therapy for Smoking Cessation

2013 
Objectives : The purpose of this study was to compare three therapies - auricular acupuncture, transdermal nicotine patch and therapy - in combination with auricular acupuncture and nicotine patch. Methods : The subjects of this study included 188 male smokers in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s, who visited Wonmi Public Health Center. They were evaluated with the Fagerstrom test for nicotine dependence, amounts of daily smoking and success rate of smoking cessation. The subjects decided on a therapy method strictly of their own choice. They were divided into three groups according to the therapy; auricular acupuncture group (62 persons), nicotine patch group (69 persons) and combination therapy group (57 persons). Results : All three groups resulted in statistically significant reducing effects of nicotine dependence and amounts of daily smoking. In the combination therapy group, nicotine dependence was significantly decreased by more than those of the other groups. There were no statistically significant differences in decrements of daily smoking and success rate of smoking cessation among the three groups. Conclusions : The above results suggest that auricular acupuncture and transdermal nicotine patch have significant effects of smoking cessation. If they are combined, it is expected that therapies for smoking cessation would be developed.
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