Jan
10
Have you tried unconventional approaches to stop smoking?
January 10, 2007 |
Each year, millions of people vow to finally kick the cigarette habit, only to watch their optimistic expectations go up in smoke. But if 
they’ve tried and failed with conventional smoking cessation approaches — whether it’s the use of nicotine gum, counseling, or behavior modification — they often look outside the mainstream, motivated by the hope that alternative medicine might finally deliver them from a life cluttered with cigarette packs and tarnished by nicotine-stained teeth.
But both smokers and health-care professionals agree that the challenge of quitting remains formidable.
"When it comes to smoking cessation, there’s no magic bullet — I think everyone agrees with that," says Thomas Kiresuk, PhD, a clinical psychologist at the Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation and former director of the Center for Addiction and Alternative Medicine Research in Minneapolis, Minn. And while many alternative approaches are available — ranging from acupuncture to guided imagery to self-hypnosis — they’re certainly no panacea, and for every smoker they help, they may leave another one frustrated and feeling a slow burn at the end of the day while they light up their next cigarette.
True, some people swear by the acupuncture needles stuck in their bodies or the nicotine-averse images implanted in their minds, crediting these unconventional techniques with thoughts of conquering their nicotine cravings for good. But when you examine all of the scientific research, the success stories are interspersed with the disappointments. "There’s really nothing out there that has set itself apart as a winner in the treatment of smoking cessation," says Kiresuk, a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Alternatives for Giving Up Cigarettes
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