ArticleChinese medicine2022
Acupuncture combined with auricular acupressure for smoking cessation and its effects on tobacco dependence and smoking behavior among Hong Kong smokers: a multicenter pilot clinical study.
Article in Chinese medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Non-pharmacological therapies for sleep and occupational stress regulation among nightshift nurses: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Common auricular acupoint patterns for postoperative recovery across laparoscopic surgeries: a data mining-based systematic analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Auricular magnetic bead acupressure improves postpartum sleep quality and fatigue, and reduces epidural-related maternal fever in primiparas: a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Trial
- Differences in AUTOS- and FTND-assessed dependence on various tobacco products among Chinese current tobacco/nicotine users.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Effect of acupressure on smoking cessation in young smokers with nicotine dependence: A mixed methods study.Integrative medicine research · 2025Article
- Research trends of acupressure from 2004 to 2024: A bibliometric and visualization analysis.Heliyon · 2024Review
- The association of individual cognition and social environment of smoking with autonomy over tobacco: A survey from rural China.Tobacco induced diseases · 2024Article
- The Impact of Fu's Subcutaneous Needling on Lower Limb Muscle Stiffness in Knee Osteoarthritis Patients: Study Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of pain research · 2024Article
- Silver Spike Point Therapy in smoking cessation: What is it and does it work?Saudi medical journal · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAcupuncture combined with auricular acupressure has been used as a complementary and alternative treatment for smoking cessation in Hong Kong for over 10 years. This study aimed to investigate the success rates of smoking cessation posttreatment, and to evaluate treatment effects on tobacco dependence, smoking behavior, anxiety levels, and sleep disturbances between successful and unsuccessful quit smokers in Hong Kong.
methodsThis prospective, multicenter clinical study conducted between September 2020 and February 2022 in Hong Kong was part of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area project on smoking cessation. Thirty eligible current smokers (mean age 47.10 years; 40% female) were recruited and received a combination of standardized acupuncture and auricular acupressure treatments twice weekly for 8 weeks. The primary outcome was the success rate of smoking cessation at week 24. The secondary outcomes were the success rates of smoking cessation at weeks 8 and 16, exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) levels, and changes in scores on the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), Autonomy Over Smoking Scale (AUTOS), Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Adverse events were also recorded.
resultsOf 30 eligible participants, 28 completed 6 or more treatment sessions; all completed follow-up assessments. At week 24, the success rate of smoking cessation was 46.67%. The successfully quit rates at weeks 8 and 16 were 36.67% and 43.33%, respectively. The overall change in mean FTND scores from baseline improved significantly from weeks 2 to 24 (P < 0.05), with the successful quit group showing significantly greater improvement between weeks 8 and 24 (P < 0.01). Compared with baseline values, there were significant reductions in mean AUTOS scores from weeks 6 to 24 (P < 0.001), with the successful quit group showing greater improvement at weeks 16 (P = 0.04) and 24 (P < 0.001). No significant changes were detected in exhaled CO levels or HAM-A, SAS, and PSQI scores. No study-related adverse events were observed.
conclusionsAcupuncture combined with auricular acupressure could be an effective alternative treatment for smoking cessation and reduction of tobacco dependence among Hong Kong smokers. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, No. ChiCTR2000033650. Registered on June 7, 2020. http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=54866.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.