Are you ready to quit yet?

 Imagine being able to enjoy life once again…Without all the smoke, cost, resentment and guilt associated with continuing to smoke.

With prices of cigarettes continually going up by leaps and bounds, many people have begun thinking about giving it all up once and for all. Would you like to kick that nasty habit? You know; the one that costs you money, shortens your life, and gives you foul breath that turns off your significant other? Most people that smoke actually want to give up the habit. They know deep down inside that they are not doing their bodies any favors by smoking. And their friends and families will be thankful for not having to breathe that second hand smoke. Most Americans (somewhere around 80%) start smoking before they turn 18. Ahhhhh… if you only knew then, what you know now…

For those who have tried to quit, you know how hard it can be to quit. But have hope. Truth be told, there are more ex-smokers in the U.S. than current smokers! So it is possible. Here’s some numbers; While 91% of all successful quitters do it entirely on their own (without patches, gums, pills, counseling, etc,) most of them start back up within the year. In fact only 5% of those quitters remain smoke free long term. Getting help increases your odds significantly. Whether it be a smoking cessation workshop, nicotine patches, gums or inhalers; it helps. The problem with these stop smoking aids is their limited effectiveness. For example, statistically, The nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) approach will indeed double your chances of remaining smoke free…from a 5% chance to a whopping 10% chance.   Not so good. At that rate you will have to go through the (for some) agony of quitting 10 times for it to stick.

  Isn’t quitting once enough?

Luckily you can improve those odds significantly. Based on several medical studies including a major one conducted up at Hennepin Faculty Associates in Minneapolis, Acupuncture is apparently far more effective than all the other forms of help. How much more? Well, at the risk of boring you, I’ll give you some statistics of how many quit and can stay quit a year later;

Nicotine patch

At end of treatment…7%

At 12 months…2%

Bupropion (Zyban & Wellbutrin)  therapy

At end of treatment…19%

Still quit at 12 months…10%

Acupuncture treatment:

At end of treatment…60%

Still quit at 12 months; 30%

Placebo

At end of treatment…7%

At 12 months…1%

Acupunctures effect on all types of addictions is very well documented. There are well over 300 acupuncture based substance abuse programs in the U.S. Many of them government funded. In fact, acupuncture is often a court mandated treatment for drug abusers because of its ability to curb withdrawal symptoms and manage cravings.

If you are serious about quitting, Acupuncture may be just what you need.

Our office is offering a smoking cessation treatment course to help you quit safely, naturally and easily. Acupuncture offers a multifaceted approach to help you quit. First it helps balance your nervous system. With our fast paced lifestyle, our bodies are often keyed up into the “fight or flight” response and we use nicotine to relax. It used to surprise me when I would ask someone why they smoke. Smokers would just about always say that they smoked because it relaxed them. That’s funny because nicotine and cigarettes are actually stimulants. Acupuncture helps your body naturally tune into its “relaxation response”. This is where your heart beats more slowly and evenly, breathing deepens and digestion improves. Obviously this state is much healthier (and more enjoyable) than the fight of flight response we are constantly in where our adrenals are pumping, our breathing more rapid and shallow, our heart beating faster and digestion put on hold. Unlike the nicotine patch, acupuncture is taking nicotine out of your body instead of putting more back in. Acupuncture also eliminates your craving for cigarettes. Some who have gone through our cessation program say that they basically “forgot” to smoke. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Nicotine is poisonous you know; a thimbleful of pure nicotine is enough to drop a horse; A drop of pure nicotine is enough to kill a full grown man! Since we’re on that subject, cigarettes are the Number 1 cause of preventable deaths in the US.  Cigarettes alone are blamed for 440,000 premature deaths each year. Kills off 3000 second hand smokers every year (gee, thanks). Each single cigarette contains 4000 known poisons, any of which would kill you if taken in high enough doses. Research shows that each cigarette we smoke shaves off about 15 minutes off of your total life span; so not only do we lose 15 minutes of our lives standing there smoking, but it takes another 15 minutes off of our lifespan. Incredible! That is 30 minutes of your life given up and lost for each cigarette you smoke.

Acupuncture also eliminates your cravings for tobacco. As an ex-cigar smoker (don’t ask), I can tell you that life is so much better when you feel in control of your own actions; When your body if free of the burden of all that tobacco poison; When your mind is free of all the worries that comes when you look 30 years down the road of a smoker.

Many worry that once they stop smoking, they’ll gain extra weight. Luckily, Acupuncture also solves that problem. Since much of that weight gain is due to the replacing of one nasty nervous habit for another (nervous eating), acupuncture has been clinically shown to aid in weight loss as well. Articles published by doctors in the US Air Force and Navy as well as studies published in leading journals such as the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders show that acupuncture does indeed lead to weight loss and can eliminate weight gain associated with smoking cessation.

So What Does It Take?

The Quit Smoking Today Acupuncture Program is a series of 3-6 treatments over the course of about a week or two’s time. It utilizes special acupuncture points for ADDICTION ELIMINATION and ORGAN DETOXIFICATION & REPAIR. Remember, Acupuncture is Painless! We use single-use acupuncture threads finer than a hair and 99% of patients find it extremely pleasant; better than a massage!

We recommend not going “cold turkey” during that week; simply “practice” quitting… Acupunctures’ effects are accumulative, so it does take a few treatments for best effect. Each session of acupuncture gives you bigger results. That is why we suggest that you take that weeks time to get used to temporarily postponing your next cigarette. Each day making that time between “thinking” about having a cigarette and actually having one longer. It is a “weaning & conditioning” process. Only after you have the three sessions worth of acupuncture is the body and mind ready to quit for good… and it will be so much easier than you believed possible.

In just 3 acupuncture treatments over a 7-10 day period you can quit smoking and transition into a healthier state.

Next time you’re at the store, look at the prices of the nicotine gums and patches. Not cheap. Going to the doctor for a prescription isn’t all that inexpensive either. No, our fees are perhaps the best value in healthcare. Do this now and you’ll be saving 10 fold that amount in the cost of cigarettes very quickly. Call our office today 507-434-8700 to schedule your first treatment.