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An
Alternative to Addiction: Freedom From Smoking
By Arthur Rapkin, OMD, and Adam Margolis, L.Ac.According
to Oriental Medical theory, human beings are microcosms of the world
around them. Among the implications of this idea is that people have
a natural, ingrained ability to be whole and balanced. Just as the
countless elements of the world's ecosystem are set to work in
perfect harmony with each other, a human being is naturally capable
of existing in harmony with him or herself without the aid of
external substances. When
using Oriental Medicine to recover from addiction, a person is not
given a substitute for the substance on which he or she is
dependent. Instead the practitioner uses acupuncture and herbal
medicine to unlock the patient's natural potential for
self-sufficiency and strength. Through the use of this empowering
strategy, a person overcomes addiction while rediscovering his or
her own true self. In this respect, acupuncture is extremely
valuable because it supports and nourishes a person's body in order
to provide for their future health. Understanding this process is
critical to the success of managing change. Eliminating negative
influences from our lives is as important as beginning to make more
positive decisions in our lives and for the sake of our overall
health. When administered properly, acupuncture affects both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Acupuncture works by influencing brain and organ function. It further activates the sympathetic nervous system, which stimulates the endocrine glands (responsible for the production of the hormones regulating body function), increases metabolism, affects oxygen consumption throughout the body, and regulates heart rate. At
the same time, by simultaneously activating the parasympathetic
nervous system, it begins a process of relaxation. The pituitary
gland responds by releasing a variety of hormones that immediately
influence the body's defensive and restorative mechanisms, thus
releasing endorphins, our bodies' natural painkillers. In other
words, an acupuncture treatment (provided it is given by an
experienced practitioner) is not only painless but is as close to
natural euphoria as you can get. Simply
put, you can treat stress with a cigarette or you can treat yourself
to being stress-free with acupuncture. One is a deposit into your
health, the other is a withdrawal. Life's conditions are
manifestations of choices and patterns we have developed. The idea
of enhancing your overall health is to choose them carefully and
with the best intentions. What
Acupuncture Will Not Do
The
most common misconception about using acupuncture to end one’s
addiction to cigarettes is that acupuncture will eliminate the
desire to smoke. This is simply not the case. An acupuncture
treatment for a smoker does not work by taking away nicotine
cravings. How then does acupuncture help so many people to quit
smoking? To understand this, it is important to examine what
actually happens when a nicotine-addicted person stops smoking
cigarettes. Cigarettes are laden with a great number of toxic
substances. There are over 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke. Over
200 of these chemicals are poisonous, and at least 40 have been
found to cause cancer. Some of the ingredients include ammonia,
arsenic, poloium 210, carbon monoxide, and acetone . When a person
smokes, these toxic substances accumulate within the tissues of the
body and become stored in the organs, tissues, and cells. The
presence of such volatile chemicals in a person’s system
interferes with normal immune function, and thus has a tendency to
result in life-threatening illnesses. When
someone decides to quit smoking, the body initiates a process of
de-toxification.
Detoxification, which is also known as the
De-tox process, occurs when all of the stored residual
toxicity associated with tobacco use begins to leave a person’s
body. This is not something that one would have to do consciously,
it is an automatic response. As these accumulated substances begin
to exit the body, they are suddenly (and often dramatically)
released from storage within the body’s organs and tissues, and
are released back into the blood stream to be processed and
eliminated. When years of accumulated toxicity are released into the
bloodstream, the body becomes abruptly overwhelmed in a desperate
attempt to process and eliminate the poison, and physical discomfort
can sometimes rise to intolerable levels. This condition, which is
characterized by extreme fatigue, edginess, headaches, sweating,
insomnia, and irritability is known as withdrawal. Withdrawal,
and the discomfort associated with the symptoms of the withdrawal
process, is the main obstacle that keeps people from quitting
smoking successfully. It is important to understand that acupuncture
has no effect on eliminating addictive or compulsive mental states.
Acupuncture will not change your mind about the role that smoking
plays in your life. The reason that acupuncture is such a powerful
tool in helping people to live smoke-free lives is that it can
drastically reduce the symptoms of withdrawal. For smokers who have
resolved themselves to quitting, acupuncture and Chinese herbal
medicine can actually speed up the withdrawal process by helping the
body to detoxify more quickly and efficiently. For smokers who have
not resolved to become non-smokers, but are instead hoping for a
miracle to help them to develop
a powerful desire to quit, acupuncture will be of little
use. Acupuncture
helps to make withdrawal manageable, and gives the body enough
support through the Detox process that people are better able to
succeed in getting to the other side of the hump. It is really that
simple. .
Participating in the process of such a change requires courage and
commitment even though people feel vulnerable and weak during this
time in their lives. The greatest contribution that Oriental
Medicine can give to a person is to nourish, cultivate, and enhance
good health; exactly what we all need. During
the recovery process from any kind of substance addiction, a person
may go through various transitions and emotional shifts. During this
time, it is always necessary to reevaluate one’s life choices, and
summon the courage and the strength to confront the very compulsive
behaviors and states of mind that drive the addictive process. It is
always easier to continue our old habits and behaviors than it is to
change, but it is even harder to summon the strength to change in
the face of the physical and mental distress that often accompany
the process of detoxification. Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
help to quickly restore the body’s smooth and natural function,
allowing people to access their innate sense of dignity, mental
clarity and will, and break the cycle of addiction. What
is Nicotine Really Doing for You? Considering
the fact that smoking is the number one cause of health problems in
our country today, I will focus on this addiction with the hopes
that those of you who are smokers will consider the dangerous
control that smoking has over your body and mind. Consider the fact
that one out of two smokers will die from smoking-related causes
including but not limited to these cancers: lung, mouth, esophageal,
bone, and brain, just to name a few. Other health concerns are heart
disease, asthma, chronic obstructed pulmonary disease, and
emphysema. Smoking
has huge transactional costs in the workplace as well. Frequent
illnesses and absenteeism are results of smoking tobacco. Smoking
lowers productivity at the workplace. Smokers typically take more
breaks and are frequently thinking of having their next cigarette
instead of concentrating on their work. Perhaps the most obvious health-related fact about smoking is that it significantly reduces the flow of much-needed oxygen throughout the system. The most recent studies related to the affect that smoking has on men have indicated that blood flow to the penis and testes during sexual activity is reduced considerably by the presence of nicotine in their bodies. Men who smoke may eventually develop problems with sexual function.
Now
guys, is it really worth it? It may not be important to you now if
you are under 40, but being able to perform sexually after age 40
or 50 will make a huge difference in your quality of life. It's
not just that you will have to die younger as a smoker than a
non-smoker; that would be an easy decision to make. The reality is
that you may not be functioning on your own without assistance or
aid to even go the bathroom if you suffer a heart attack or
stroke.
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