Efficacy of an Alternative Smoking Cessation Treatment

The authors tested the effectiveness of a smoking cessation treatment called auricular therapy that involves the delivery of electrical pulses to specific points on the outer ear. They explored the following question: Do patients undergoing auricular therapy demonstrate greater quit rates in comparison to patients assigned to a control group (i.e., undergoing sham auricular therapy)? Analysis revealed that genuine auricular therapy and placebo group differences on all measures of smoking behavior and nicotine withdrawal symptoms did not approach significance. Abstinence rates among patients in both groups were low and groups did not obtain significantly different scores on the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence at all assessment points.