Stick it to smoking

• Last Updated: May 05. 2008 4:02PM UAE / May 5. 2008 12:02PM GMT

Acupuncture has proven to be highly effective in reducing the cravings that go along with nicotine addiction. China Photos / Getty Images

Standing on the edge of the kerb with cars whizzing by, Carol Eisenhart and her husband, Jack, desperately tried to enjoy their post-meal cigarette.

But since the restaurant and the adjacent bar had a strict non-smoking policy, the couple were forced out on to the roadside – hardly the most relaxing of venues for an after-dinner treat. When they returned to their table, disapproving glances from fellow diners were enough to make Carol reconsider her lifelong habit.

Carol Eisenhart stopped smoking after one session of acupuncture. Paulo Vecina / The National

“It was the negative social reaction more than health reasons that made me want to quit,” said Eisenhart, a Dubai resident originally from Houston, Texas. “When I started in the Sixties, everyone smoked and it wasn’t frowned upon at all, but nowadays it is so unpopular I finally decided it was time to stop.”

But it wasn’t going to be easy. Every time the phone rang at Eisenhart’s Al Manara apartment, she would have to find her packet of cigarettes before answering, knowing she would need one to get through the conversation. If she sat out on her balcony for evening cocktails with her husband, she felt she couldn’t enjoy the drinks without smoking. Some days she would smoke up to 30 cigarettes.

Nevertheless, once she had made up her mind to stop, she was ­determined.

Eisenhart, 61, sought help from Dr Chen Qiang, an acupuncturist based in Jumeirah, Dubai. She had seen Chen once before for a pinched nerve in her back and trusted his expertise.

“When I lived in the States, I was never one for alternative therapies. If I was unwell I would always visit my doctor and take conventional medicine.

“However, when we moved to ­Dubai I twisted my back while I was painting the front door and was in excruciating pain for a month. No doctor seemed to be able to help so I consulted Dr Chen. I had friends who had been to acupuncturists and had success so I thought it was worth a try.”

After one session with Chen, an expert in Chinese medicine, ­Eisenhart was back to full health. So when she made the decision to end her 40-year smoking habit, she booked another appointment.

“Of course there were other options, like nicotine patches or gum but I didn’t want to trade one addiction for another,” explained ­Eisenhart, a supply teacher with the American School in Dubai.

“Dr Chen said he could reduce my cravings by as much as 80 to 90 per cent, so as long as I wanted to stop, I would easily be able to cope with the rest.”

One month ago, Eisenhart had one acupuncture session and has not smoked a cigarette since.

“I felt like a bit of a voodoo doll having needles stuck in me in all sorts of strange places, but whatever he did really worked. It is truly unbelievable,” she said.

Eisenhart started smoking at college in America when she was given a free sample in her postbox. She soon developed a 20-a-day habit and like many women during the 1960s and 1970s, smoked through both her pregnancies.

“My doctor never advised me not to and I simply didn’t consider it would have been dangerous to my children. Of course if I had known, I wouldn’t have touched a cigarette.”

Thankfully her children were completely healthy and neither picked up their mother’s penchant for smoking.

Her husband, a manager for Total Safety, a safety equipment company that supplies oil rigs, also smokes 20 cigarettes a day.

“It was just one of many things we had in common and until recently it was something we both enjoyed,” said Eisenhart. “It began to be a ­social stigma in America a few years ago when it was banned in public places, but when we moved to ­Dubai two years ago we quickly slipped back into the habit of smoking ­everywhere.”

In May last year, things began to change. The Dubai Executive Council issued a law regulating smoking in public places and the municipality went on to enforce a ban on smoking in many shopping malls and food establishments.

“With the ban came the growing negative response,” said Eisenhart. “Plus, I was constantly reminded about the adverse effects on my health. I am really proud that I managed to give up. Even though Dr Chen said I might have cravings for up to two years, I definitely won’t be going back.”

Chen said he sees an increasing number of people wishing to kick the habit, but he will not give anyone treatment who is not fully committed.

“The acupuncture takes away the cravings that come with environmental triggers,” he said. “In other words, the urge to have a cigarette every time you do a certain thing, like answer the phone, eat a meal or have a drink. I also work on the environmental triggers which cause smokers to reach for their packet if they feel anger, sadness or boredom.

“But it will not completely remove the chemical addiction as this is rooted in the nicotine levels in the blood.

“I say to most patients I can reduce their cravings from over 20 a day to less than five and I can shorten those craving times to two or three minutes. It is a small battle that anyone who really wants to quit can overcome.”

For more information, visit www.chenqiang.net