Effects Assessment of Auricular Acupuncture and Group Counseling for Smoking Cessation in Senior High School Students

Abstract

Smoking is a serious public health problem since it harms not only the smokers but also other people in touch with the smokers. Many obstinate illnesses such as cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease are now be proven to be related to smoking itself. To help young smokers, particularly adolescent, quitting smoking can prevent more tobacco use. Some studies showed auricular acupuncture (AA) is increasingly used to treat chemical dependency and withdrawal symptoms based as it's safe and effective. Moreover, group counseling can motivate young adults to set a quit date and strengthen their belief in quitting smoking via peer effects. The present study evaluates the effects of a 8-week smoking cessation courses consisting of AA and group counseling once per week on senior high school students aged from 15 to 18. The AA treatment was administrated at both side of ears on a weekly basis for six weeks. Clinicians gave an intensive counseling session assessing the readiness to quit, exploring smoking habits, and identifying barriers to smoking cessation and relapsing factors. Before each intervention, the 23 participants completed questionnaires and offered levels of carbon monoxide exhalation. The participants showed significant differences in levels of carbon monoxide exhalation, daily tobacco consumptions, reduction in the taste of tobacco and intensity of the desire to smoke after 6-week consecutive sessions. However, the smoking cessation success was only three cases (13%). Given limited and uncertain efficacy of AA for smoking cessation, though it's non-invasive and safe, it's better to combine AA with other methods not only for synergistic effects but also better smoking cessation success rate.