European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 21, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes wednesday september 21, 1977 smoking and you acupuncture helps smokers to quit second in a 10-Day series of stories by staff writer Bob Hoyer lifelong smokers in increasing numbers Are being needled out of their craving for tobacco. Despite an underlying scepticism among professionals grounded in Western Medicine it appears that acupuncture the ancient chinese Needle therapy can be an effective tool in dealing with the nicotine habit. Results of the single acupuncture treat ment customarily Given for smoking often Are dramatic. Some smokers Are so Happy that they Are no longer slaves to tobacco that they hurl their cigarettes into the trash. Others find themselves with renewed Energy and interests and a More positive Outlook on life. Acupuncture Long used by the chinese to treat drug addiction alcoholism and smoking now is being successfully employed by specialists in Europe. During the past two years americans living in Ger Many have discovered the effectiveness of the Needles in dealing with smoking. 75 per cent Success rate German doctors treating smokers claim that at least 75 per cent of their patients Are Able to give up tobacco or substantially Cut Hack on the habit after a single treat ment. Interviews with 14 americans who received treatments that dated from april 1975 to july of this year showed that 11 were Able to quit smoking. The reaction of patients varied from a local elimination of the desire to smoke to a partial curbing of the appetite for tobacco to no effect at All. Variables in the methods of treatment and the attitudes of patients no doubt contributed to the different re sults. Although acupuncturists Are convinced their treatments help Many smokers give up the habit they find it difficult to explain Why. German doctors using the Needle treatment insist there is no hypnosis involved that acupuncture seems to be effective because of certain physical changes in the body. Or. Bert Richarz a German Navy doctor who has been using acupuncture in Bingen since 1967, is convinced that the Needle treatment is mostly empirical. Can t explain it it is mostly experienced knowledge he said. I am not a chemist not a Biolo Gist so i do not know what happens when the Needles go in. But at the same time i doubt whether most doctors realize what happens when they insert a Needle with serum in a patient. The important thing in medical treatment is results. With Acu puncture we know that it works. After All it is 4,000 years old and has been used effectively for a very Long time. As a medical doctor i have a responsibility to my patients and i find acupuncture is one of the ways i can help  Richarz was first exposed to Acup unc t Lre in Tokyo in 1965 while making a global cruise aboard the German Navy training ship deutschland. I was simply amazed by the results and became interested in using acupuncture As a Means of treatment he said. Richarz uses a Standard 31-Needle treat ment for smoking with the Needles inserted in most parts of the body. He says 75 per cent of the German and american smokers he treats Are Able to quit the habit after a single visit. When someone returns to smoking i usually embed a Needle in the ear Rich Arz said. This is kept in the ear for a couple of weeks and when the desire to smoke arises the Needle is rubbed. This usually proves  or. Hans Kennel a Veteran Kaiserslautern gynaecologist who has been using Acu puncture with his practice since 1965, says that the main Points of acupuncture Deal with changes in the nervous system and the circulation and in this manner seem to help the smoker quit the habit. To the extent that a certain amount of psychology is involved in All medical treat ment there May be a psychological component to acupuncture Kennel said. He finds that about 80 per cent of the smokers who come to him either quit the habit or Cut Back on their smoking. Kennel s treatment for smoking varies with the patient. The number of Needles used is not As important As the placement he said. The placement is very  american civilian patient Theo Ott a pack a Day smoker was Given 24 Needles by Kennel. In Aix in Provence France or. Yves Requena uses just two Needles in the nose with apparent Good results. Requena who has treated about a dozen americans from the military Community in Vicenza Italy keeps followup data on selected groups of patients. He reports that a Survey of the first 100 smokers treated in 1975 produced immedi ate Success with 64 smokers after an initial treatment. In association with four other French acupuncturists records kept on 1,500 patients after three months showed that 61 per cent stopped smoking 10 per cent Cut Back to less than five cigarettes a Day and 29 per cent continued to smoke at their old rate. Calms the nerves acupuncture takes away the desire to smoke while calming the nerves Requena said. It works for those who have a Strong desire to quit and who do not give in to later temptations to  a German physician whose clinical staff includes four chinese acupuncturists uses five Needles to treat tobacco addiction but most smokers receive More Needles. He claims that a single treatment should eliminate the body s need for nicotine. Unlike some of his medical colleagues he says it is not necessary for the patient to believe in the method of treatment but it helps to be motivated to quit. Leonard kale an american civilian accountant who visited the doctor seemed to prove that a nonbeliever can actually shake the habit through acupuncture. I tried to quit cold Turkey. I tried Niko ban tablets. Nothing worked. But i really wanted to quit. I was hacking myself to death. Finally my wife suggested acupuncture kale said. I agreed to give it a try but i did t go in there with a positive attitude. I had a pack of cigarettes in my pocket when i entered the doctor s office. I came out about an hour later and threw the cigarettes away. I Don t know what happened but the it works but nobody knows Why doctors Are not sure Why but a few Needles properly placed have helped Many smokers kick the Hab it. Is Schuettler craving was t  kale has t smoked since  army major from Frankfurt had a similar experience at the same clinic. Al though he too wanted to quit he was Dubi Ous about the effectiveness of acupuncture in dealing with a four pack a Day habit. But to his Surprise his desire for tobacco was gone after a single acupuncture treat ment. Many of the patients cannot believe what has happened to them said the doctor who treated the major. They Are so Happy to be rid of the  for professional reasons the doctor asked not to be quoted by name. Air Force . Wayne Hudson formerly assigned to a tenant unit at Ramstein a kicked the habit in april 1975 after a single treatment by Kennel. Tried cold Turkey i Don t know what made me quit but i know it worked. I had tried cold Turkey and that did t work he said. I really did t have that much desire to quit until my wife Begano suffer from my smoking and until i developed a  Sheila Davis chief Telephone operator at Ramstein a took the treatment from Kennel two years ago and has been completely turned off by smoking. I can t even stand the smell of smoke anymore. I Don t know How i put up with it when i smoked she said. I really wanted to quit but i could t. I tend cold Turkey and that did t work. So i have to be for acupuncture. I think it also helps if you want to  Ott who took the treatment from Kennel two months ago is still off the Weed. He does t know Why but he seems to have lost his desire to smoke even when in the company of heavy smokers. Two army men . Henry Fowler and . Duncan Mccormick both from the logistical support activity Rodel Heim Germany gave up smoking after receiving the treatment from Richarz. A three pack a Day Man Fowler tried to quit on a number of occasions but the craving always got the Best of him until he tried the Needles. Mccormick a smoker for 17 years at the time he quit is ecstatic about the Way Acu puncture has helped him quit smoking and changed his life style. I know it s going to work. This is be cause i m not substituting anything else for smoking he said. In the past when i quit i ate More food. But since the acupuncture i have less desire for food. My habits have changed. I look less at television. I m read ing More. I m doing More constructive  Lorelie Tomko wife of an army civilian at Southern european task Force Vicenza Italy reports Success in giving up to Bacco after a single treatment by Requena. F i had the treatment in february 1976, and i Haven t smoked since she said. The doctor put just two tiny Needles in the Bridge of the nose. He said they would take away the addiction to nicotine and they did. I was concerned because i was a stress smoker. Smoking was my Security Blanket. But i Haven t smoked since the treatment. It was not painful and the desire to smoke was pretty Well killed by that single treatment. After the treatment the doctor advised no Coffee and no alcohol for two weeks. He seemed confident the Needles would end the desire for  other patients report disappointing re sults from acupuncture. Belen Cardonita an air Force wife from Ramstein smoked a cigarette two hours after her treatment from Kennel. For me it did t do any Good. I guess psychologically i was not prepared. I was t ready to give  army civilian employee John Fox who visited the same clinic As kale blamed the failure of acupuncture on his own mental Outlook. Quit for two Days it did have some effect but not enough. I touched it out for two Days after the treat ment before i began to smoke he said. The first cigarette made me dizzy. It was As though i had t smoked for quite awhile. But i guess i was not ready for the treat ment even though i would like to quit. I was worried at the time i went in for the treatment and this May be the reason it did t  both Kennel and Richarz say motivation in the patient is important i say loud and Clear it s not Only the treatment that matters Richarz said. The addiction i can treat but the individual must cooperate if the smoking is to Stop on the Long  for Many smokers the apprehension that precedes their visit to the acupuncturist is worse than the treatment itself. Most patients report Only a slight pricking Sensa Tion when the Needles Are inserted. Some find Needles in the nose to be slightly pain Ful. A tickling sensation Ott says three Needles placed in his nose by Kennel were the most noticeable. They did t Hurt going in. But they seemed to cause a tickling sensation. I had a dryness in the Throat. Otherwise i Felt very  most acupuncturists leave the Needles in place for 20 minutes to a half hour. With 4,500 acupuncturists at work in Germany the medical doctors who have Learned to apply the Needle treatment Cau Tion that acupuncture is a serious Mode of treatment and should not be taken lightly. You cannot go to the clinic for a couple of Quick lessons and Call yourself an acupuncturist Richarz said. This is an ancient form of treatment and it is difficult for the Westerner to grasp the touch that is necessary to make acupuncture  Kennel is convinced that acupuncture properly applied May Benefit Many patients when used along with Western medi Cine. Treating smoking he says is one of the areas where he has been most Success Ful. Many Western trained doctors have adopted a kind of Neutral attitude in As Sessing the use of acupuncture for treating smoking. For them it is a wait and see policy. While Many remain sceptical others appear reluctant to Knock acupuncture if it really helps a smoker kick the habit. Tomorrow smoking and How it affects your body. Medical experts in Europe talk about smoking