Overview: Acupuncture has been advocated as a safe effective treatment for addictive diseases. Within this section of the Library AAOM is pleased to provide information, resources and weblinks pertaining to the treatment of various types of addiction through acupuncture.

A Brief History of Acupuncture for Detoxification in the United States: While acupuncture has been around for thousands of years, the specific treatment of addiction with acupuncture only dates back to the early 1970s. The work of Dr. Wen led to the discovery of what ultimately would become a hybrid of acupuncture. Dr. Wen, a neurosurgeon in Hong Kong, was researching the effects of acupuncture for postsurgical pain and coincidentally found that applying electrical stimulation to the lung point in the ear relieved opiate withdrawal symptoms…more

Acupuncture in the Treatment of Substance Abuse: Everyone claims addiction is a major problem in this country. The jails are crowded with addicts. Addiction, either directly or indirectly, costs untold millions (and possibly billions) of dollars in every area of life: poor health; lost productivity; crime; accidents; and so on. Current treatment is helpful but extremely limited. It works fairly well in the short term but is abysmally ineffective in maintaining recovery over time…more

Understanding Addiction: (Part I of III): Addiction is a complex and baffling condition. It is rampant in our society in every form, from drug dependency and alcoholism to eating disorders; gambling; compulsive shopping; spending; smoking; and (in some instances) sex, to name a few. The abuse of prescription drugs has increased rapidly in recent years. Vicodin is one of the most widely abused prescription narcotics today, followed by OxyContin. Both drugs are opiates and are responsible for helping fill beds in treatment facilities nationwide…more

Understanding Addiction – Treatment Facilities and the use of Acupuncture (Part II of III): The clients sit on the floor of the light-filled, circular meditation room. The deep plush purple carpet stands in direct contrast to the glimpses of blue sky that filter through the 12 skylights that surround the high ceilings. The number 12 is an intentional part of the architectural plan CEO Jack Bernstein had in mind. With all of the ear needles in place in every client, and soothing sounds emanating from a CD, the group meditates for 45 minutes. This practice takes place three times a week at the Pfleger Center, a 120-bed, state-of-the-art treatment center for addiction…more

Acupuncture Project Gives Addicts New Home: When he was 13 years old, Andre Rigby began using needles to inject drugs into his body. By the time he was 35, he'd dropped out of high school, become addicted to both heroin and cocaine, failed two previous attempts to break his drug addiction, and had been sent to jail three times…more

Acupuncture Helps Fight Cocaine Addiction: For more than a quarter century, acupuncture has been employed in the United States to help people lose their cravings for alcohol, nicotine and other addictive substances. New research published in a recent issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that acupuncture may also help subjects lose their addiction to a far more insidious product - cocaine…more

Understanding Addiction – Stories from the Front Lines (Part III of III): While treating a group at a recovery home, I met the wife of an actor named "Noreen," who was in treatment to deal with her alcoholism. The next week, I turned on the news and heard that Noreen had been found dead in her swimming pool. She died from an overdose of drugs and alcohol. Because her husband was a well-known actor, the story was all over the news and in the tabloids. Her husband, understanding the power of the disease that is addiction, relapse and the need for quality treatment, raised a million dollars and purchased a new building for the recovery home, which often had a waiting list…more

Acupuncture and Addiction – Another Road to Recovery: A recent study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine may prove that there is another treatment option that may be available to those suffering from cocaine addiction. Arthur Margolin, Ph D at Yale University School of Medicine followed 82 cocaine-addicted participants assigning certain people to receive auricular acupuncture and another number to receive relaxation techniques…more

Healing with Auricular Acupuncture: Innovative methods are continually being sought to reduce the harm caused by the use/abuse of Drugs and Alcohol. Auricular-Ear Acupuncture is one such innovation that has been found to be effective in helping those affected by substance abuse. Clinical evidence supports that it is effective in relieving withdrawal symptoms associated with substance abuse (drugs, alcohol, nicotine and or addictive behaviors like gambling.) It helps decrease the severity of cravings, body aches, headaches, nausea, sweating and muscle cramping…more

The Use of Acupuncture in Addiction and Obesity: A large number of Western acupuncturists are using a variety of acupuncture techniques to treat obesity, smoking and hard drug addiction. There is some excellent physiological and clinical evidence to support the use of acupuncture in these areas. The withdrawal symptoms experienced by people giving up smoking, or drugs, can be alleviated by raising the levels of endorphins in the nervous system1 Some people believe that the desire to eat is also mediated by the endorphin level in the brain…more

Acupuncture and Addiction Treatment (Purchase Article), Hawthorne Press, Inc.

Acupuncture and Addiction Treatment: Moner S E. Acupuncture and addiction treatment. Journal of Addictive Diseases, 1996;15(3):79-100…more

Auricular Acupuncture As a Treatment of Cocaine, Heroin, and Alcohol Addiction: A Pilot Study… Because of the great number of patients who dropped out soon after the beginning of acupuncture treatment, the sample size is rather low. Therefore, this study only shows preliminary results regarding the efficiency of acupuncture treatment of patients with drug and alcohol addictions. However, there is some evidence that acupuncture might be an effective form of therapy, especially for patients with problematic cocaine use…more

Drug Addiction – British Acupuncture Council: Acupuncture, especially auricular (ear) acupuncture, is often used to help alleviate the withdrawal symptoms of drug addiction. The Gateway Clinic in London is a 'drop in' clinic for drug addicts taking hard drugs such as heroine and cocaine. Ear acupuncture is used as one of their main treatments for the withdrawal symptoms of these drugs…more

Acupuncture for Weightloss: Weight loss comes under the topic of “Weight Control”, because we are concerned with the loss and MAINTENANCE of loss of weight. This is a multi-faceted problem, and a good program involves diet, exercise and stress reduction techniques. Chinese acupressure and digestive aid exercises are also useful tools in the battle with weight loss…more

Acupuncture and Smoking Cessation:

Acupuncture Curbs Urge to Light Up: (1-24-2002) For those who want to quit smoking, acupuncture directed to selected points in the body may help curb the desire to smoke, according to a report in the journal Preventive Medicine (Vol. 33: 364-372)…more

Mixed Results for Acupuncture and Smoking Cessation: Although acupuncture has been an integral part of traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years, the idea of using acupuncture to help people overcome certain addictions is relatively new. In fact, the idea of acupuncture as a form of addiction treatment happened almost by chance in the early 1970s, when a patient who happened to be suffering withdrawal symptoms from an opium addiction reported his symptoms disappeared after receiving electroacupuncture prior to surgery…more

Acupuncture for Smoking Cessation: Bibliography: The following references are additional to those already listed in the evidence summary for "Acupuncture for smoking cessation", listed on the following website: www.cam.org.nz…more

Addiction Treatment Resources:

Capitol Health: Capital Health exists within the largest integrated academic health district in Atlantic Canada, known as the Capital Health District. The Capital Health District is one of nine health districts in Nova Scotia. The Capital Health District consists of the Halifax Regional Municipality and the western portion of Hants County in Nova Scotia. View CHD Map

Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute: Recognizing the need to address the enormous problems caused by alcohol and drug abuse, the University of Washington established the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute in October of 1973 as an interdisciplinary research center in the Warren G. Magnuson Health Sciences Center. From its beginning, the mission of the Institute has been to conduct and support substance abuse research a the University of Washington, and disseminate research findings in substance abuse.

Acupuncture/Addiction Bibliography…more

National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers: The mission of the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers (NAATP) is to promote, assist and enhance the delivery of ethical, effective, research-based treatment for alcoholism and other drug addictions. NAATP will seek to accomplish this mission by; (1) providing its members and the public with accurate, responsible information and other resources related to the treatment of these diseases; (2) advocating for increased access to and availability of quality treatment for those who suffer from alcoholism and other drug addictions; and (3) working in partnership with other organizations and individuals that share NAATP’s mission and goals.

The Use of Acupuncture in Drug Addiction and Treatment (Includes Bibliography) Serious medical research and experimentation with the healing powers of acupuncture has led to the discovery of a highly promising weapon in the fight against chemical dependency. Though there is a consensus in the medical community that more reliable scientific data on the subject need to be collected, anecdotal evidence and clinical success stories strongly suggest that acupuncture can alleviate many of the serious symptoms of withdrawal, thus facilitating detoxification and encouraging acute addicts to continue treatment.…more

National Acupuncture Detoxification Association: Understanding the principles of both Chinese medicine and chemical dependency can lead to significant benefit in recovery from all forms of drug addiction as well as alcoholism and a variety of mental disorders. NADA protocols, especially designed for this type of treatment, have been carefully developed and extensively tested. More than 500 clinical sites in the US, Europe, Australia and the Caribbean currently utilize these protocols, even in settings where threats of violence had previously made it difficult to serve clients. While adapted to Western attitudes and conditions, the NADA method derives directly from Chinese medicine theory of detoxification.

Addiction Treatment Forum: Addiction Treatment Forum has reported on substance abuse and addiction therapies, research, news, and events of interest to both healthcare professionals and patients since 1992. This website features extensive resources, such as: current and past issues of AT Forum newsletters, special research reports, FAQs, regularly updated news, notices of upcoming events, and much more.