JOURNAL OF CHINESE MEDICINE NUMBER 49 SEPTEMBER 1995

WITHDRAWAL FROM
SMOKING WITH
ACUPUNCTURE
by Wei Lishuang and Xiao Fei
Since 1985, the authors have treated 486 cases of smoking,
obtaining relatively good results.
Patients
Among 486 cases, 481 were male and 5 were female. The
oldest was 68 years and the youngest was 18 years. The
longest history of smoking was 39 years. 28 cases were nonChinese.
Treatment methods
Prescription: Bilateral Renying ST-9 and Tianzhu BL-10.
Acupuncture technique: 1.5 inch filiform needles were used.
In puncturing Renying ST-9, the needle was inserted 0.8-1
cun towards the opposite Renying ST-9 and manipulated
with shaking technique to induce a distending needling
sensation which radiated through the whole of the neck.
Then the needle was lifted to a depth of 0.3 - 0.5 cun and
retained there. In order to avoid injury to the large blood
vessels in the neck, it is not recommended to perform the
methods of rotating, lifting or thrusting. In puncturing
Tianzhu BL-10, the needle was inserted 1-1.3 cun into the
point and a distending needling sensation was generated
with the rotating manipulation method. Needles were
retained for 15 - 20 minutes. Treatment was performed once
a day, one treatment course consisting of 5 treatments.
There was a one day intermission between two treatment
courses.
Criteria for evaluating effects
Cured: smoking ceased within two treatment courses, and
the patient did not smoke during a 6 month follow-up.
Effective: smoking ceased within two treatment courses.
However, the patients smoked intermittently during a 6
month follow-up.
Ineffective: smoking did not cease, or, smoking did not cease
within two treatment courses and the patients resumed
smoking during a 6 month follow-up.
Results
Of the 486 cases, 298 were cured (61.3%), 157 were effective
(32.3%), and 31 were ineffective (6.4%). The total effective
rate was 93.6%. Most cured patients obtained effects within
the first three treatments.

Typical Cases
Case 1
A 33 year old overseas student from Russia paid his first
visit on October 1985. He had a history of 10 years smoking
of more than 20 cigarettes per day. He had tried to give up
smoking many times but failed because he was not able to
suppress his desire. On his first visit, the author treated him
with bilateral Renying ST-9 and Tianzhu BL-10. Needles
were retained for 20 minutes. On his second visit the following day, he said he had had no desire to smoke after the first
treatment. In order to fortify the effect, a second treatment
was given. Thereafter, he did not smoke during his one year
study in China.
Case 2
A 62 year old businessman from Italy received his first
treatment in July 1989. He stated that he had smoked for 36
years, more than 40 cigarettes per day. He suffered from
hypertension and ischaemic heart disease and had been
advised by his physician to give up smoking many times,
but he had failed because whenever he attempted to stop
smoking, he experienced lassitude, loss of appetite and
dysphoria. On his first visit, bilateral Renying ST-9 and
Tianzhu BL-10 were needled. Needles were retained for 20
minutes. The following day he told us that he did not want
to smoke anymore and had no desire for a cigarette. He
received the same treatment three times in total and then
returned to Italy. Three months later he sent a letter to us
saying that he had not smoked since the acupuncture
treatment and that his physique and spirits were improved.
Afterwards he introduced his two friends to the authors for
withdrawal from smoking. They both relinquished smoking
after acupuncture treatment.
Discussion
Considerable data from clinical observation and laboratory experiment has proven that acupuncture, including
body acupuncture and auricular acupuncture, is effective
to help patients give up smoking. The task is to discover the
most simple and effective method.
Smoking is a kind of unfavourable stimulus to the human
body. The evidence is that no one feels comfortable when
first trying a cigarette. Heavy smokers, however, have
difficulty in giving up smoking because their bodies have

JOURNAL OF CHINESE MEDICINE NUMBER 49 SEPTEMBER 1995

adapted themselves to the new circumstances due to the

long-term stimulus of cigarette smoke. In fact, the new
internal environment is an abnormal condition, mainly
manifesting as dysfunction of the nervous and endocrine
systems. Therefore, the key problem for relinquishing
smoking is to restore the nervous and endocrine function to
the state it was before smoking. It is proven that Renying
ST-9 has a significant regulatory effect on the endocrine
system1.
3. Our clinical observation revealed that after acupuncture
treatment, many smokers no longer have a desire to smoke,
or are even disgusted by cigarette smoke, and some have
nausea, sore throat, and/or headache when they smoke.
This suggests the restoration of the nervous system, and the
endocrine function to normal.
4. The key to successful treatment is proper acupuncture
technique. When the needle is inserted at Renying ST-9, the
patient should feel a strong distending sensation in the
throat, and a hot sensation of the face should be felt during
retention of the needles .

References
1. Liang Xibin, et al. The treatment of Fibrocystic Disease of the
Breast by Acupuncture: A Report on 47 Cases. American Journal
of Acupuncture, 1992; 20(4), 313-319.
Wei Lishuang and Xiao Fei work at the Affiliated Hospital of
Shandong College of TCM.

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