Center Offers Acupuncture Based Smoking Cessation Program

Marie Nuthall, M.Ac., L.Ac., will lead the upcoming class, Quit Smoking with Acupuncture , at the Center for Integrative Medicine.

For those who still haven’t managed to quit the tobacco habit, 2015 brings new hope.

UM Shore Regional Health’s Center for Integrative Medicine offers a four-week program, “Quit Smoking with Acupuncture,” beginning the first week of February. Led by Marie Nuthall, M.Ac., L.Ac., this program provides a drug-free approach to smoking cessation that helps reduce the cravings and withdrawal symptoms experienced by most smokers when they try to give up the habit.

Nuthall has treated hundreds of patients seeking relief from addiction withdrawal symptoms with auricular acupuncture in a group setting. Her “Quit Smoking with Acupuncture” program follows the National Acupuncture Detoxification protocol, Acu Detox, which is a five-point ear acupuncture treatment that has been proven effective in supporting addiction recovery. Among the Acu-Detox benefits reported by patients and clinicians are reductions in cravings, a more optimistic and cooperative attitude toward the process of recovery, improved program retention and an overall reduction in: anxiety, sleep disturbance and need for pharmaceuticals.

How does it work? According to Nuthall, at five designated points on each ear, fine gauge, sterilized, one-time use stainless steel needles are applied just under the skin, where they remain for up to an hour while the patient relaxes in a comfortable chair. Patient groups sit together during the treatment, which in this program, will include group discussions and guided meditations/short readings during each session.

Enrollment in the program means a commitment to two hour-and-a-half meetings weekly for four weeks. Two sessions are offered; a lunch-break session at 1 p.m., Mondays and Thursdays; and an after-work session at 5 p.m., Mondays and Thursdays. Both sessions will meet at the Center for Integrative Medicine, 607-B Dutchmans Lane in Easton. The cost for the program is $160 and enrollment in each session is limited to eight people.

For registration or more information about the Quit Smoking with Acupuncture program, contact the Center for Integrative Medicine, 410-770-9400 or [email protected].

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