Contributions of auriculotherapy in smoking cessation: a pilot study

• Published in: Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S P Vol. 48; no. 5; pp. 883 - 890
• Main Authors: Silva, Roberta de Paiva, Chaves, Erika de Cássia Lopes, Pillon, Sandra Cristina, Silva, Andréia Maria, Moreira, Denis da Silva, Iunes, Denise Hollanda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Brazil Universidade de São Paulo, Escola de Enfermagem 01-10-2014; SciELO
• Subjects: Adult; Auriculoterapia; Auriculotherapy; Cese del tabaquismo; Double-Blind Method; Female; Humans; Hábito de fumar; Male; NURSING; Pilot Projects; Smoking Cessation - methods; Terapias complementarias; Complementary therapies; Smoking cessation; Auriculotherapy; Abandono do hábito de fumar; Auriculoterapia; Terapias complementarias; Cese del tabaquismo; Terapias complementares; Smoking; Hábito de fumar
• ISSN: 0080-6234; 1980-220X; 0080-6234
• DOI: 10.1590/S0080-6234201400005000015

To evaluate the contribution of auriculotherapy in smoking cessation.
Double-blind randomized controlled trial, conducted with 30 smokers allocated into two groups: Experimental Group (21 participants received 10 sessions of auriculotherapy at specific points for smoking) and Control Group (nine participants received auriculotherapy in points that have no effect on the focus of research).
Auriculotherapy contributed in reducing the number of cigarettes smoked in 61.9% of participants (p=0.002), in reducing the difficult to abstain from smoking in places where it is forbidden by 38% (p=0.050) and in not smoking when ill 23.8% (p=0.025).
Given the efficacy only in terms of reducing the number of cigarettes smoked and other parameters, we suggest that future studies consider the use of auriculotherapy combined with other treatment methods, in order to achieve better results in cessation/abstinence.