Effectiveness of Auricular Acupuncture/Acupressure for smoking cessation- A systematic review

Background: Auricular Acupuncture/acupressure is a Chinese methodology used to cure disease. The principle based on auricular acupuncture/acupressure is the yin and yang energy through which the organ in our body gains stability. If the yin and yang energy is not stable disease occurs. The role of auricular acupuncture/acupressure for smoking cessation has much less review of literature to prove its effectiveness. Aim: To assess the effectiveness of auricular acupuncture/acupressure as one of the intervention for smoking cessation. Study Design: A systematic review of controlled trials and pilot study was performed. Electronic and hand search retrieved 583 records, 288 were screened. The intervention and outcomes were assessed in the study included for systematic review. Results: Five studies were included in our systematic reviews which were randomized control trials and pilot studies. There were studies performed in different countries. Among the five trials, two were found statistically significant, but further studies should be done to prove the effectiveness of auricular acupressure for smoking cessation. We were not able to conduct Meta-analysis due to clinical heterogeneity among the study design and difference occurred in reporting of data. Conclusion: There is a lack of evidence to show the effectiveness of auricular acupuncture/acupressure for Smoking cessation, so further pilot studies and control trials should be done to evaluate the effectiveness of auricular acupuncture /acupressure.