A Literature Review of Randomized Controlled Trials on Tobacco Cessation Using Auricular Acupuncture and Auricular Acupressure

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze auricular acupressure and auricular acupuncture used in smoking cessation research by analyzing published randomized controlled trials. Eight databases (PubMed, Cochrane, EMBASE, CNKI, CiNII, KMbase, KISS, OASIS) were searched until December 2021, and 21 out of 1,919 studies met inclusion criteria. Data on the treatment site, time, frequency, period, and outcomes were analyzed. Lung (MA-IC1) and Ear Shenmen (MA-TF1) were the most used acupoints. The number of treatments varied between a minimum of 2 to a maximum of 24, and treatment duration varied between a minimum of 2 weeks to a maximum of 8 weeks. Cigarette consumption and smoking cessation rate were the most studied outcome, followed by multiple other psychological indications.

Keywords

• acupuncture
• acupressure
• auricular acupuncture
• randomized controlled trial
• traditional medicine