The Effects of the Acupuncture Treatment for Smoking Cessation in High School Student Smokers

The use of alternative medicine for smoking cessation have been increasing steadily in recent years. A series of clinical group studies was performed to clarify the effect, outcome and success rate of an acupuncture treatment for smoking cessation. This study was conducted for four weeks using 238 smoking students at 2 high schools. The subjects were separated into two groups: 159 students were treated with acupuncture on the anti-smoking acupoints of the ear, which is known to be effective for cessation of smoking (case group), and 79 students were treated at other sites of the ear (control group). The acupuncture treatment was alternately administered at each side of the ears on a weekly basis for 4 weeks. The smoking cessation success was only 1 case (0.6%) in the case group and none in the control group after 4 weeks. The change in the taste of tobacco and the intensity of the desire to smoke were not significantly different between the case and control groups, but the case group showed a tendency of reduction in the taste of tobacco and the intensity of the desire to smoke. In addition, the reduction in cigarette consumption was not significant, but the tendency of reduction in the study group was significant. It is believed that the site of auricular acupuncture for smoking cessation is not important. However, there was a significant tendency in terms of the reduction in cigarette consumption, the taste of tobacco and the intensity of the desire to smoke in the case group, indicating that auricular acupuncture in smoking cessation has some effect

Effects on Weight Reduction and Safety of Short-Term Phentermine Administration in Korean Obese People

The phentermine, an appetite suppressant, has been widely applied in Korea since 2004. However, there have been relatively few reports about the efficacy and the safety of phentermine in Korea. The aim of this study is to verify the effect of phentermine on weight reduction and the safety in Korean patients. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study had been performed between February and July, 2005, in Seoul on 68 relatively healthy obese adults whose body mass index was 25 kg/m2 or greater. They received phentermine-HCl 37.5 mg or placebo once daily with behavioral therapy for obesity. The primary endpoints were the changes of body weight and waist circumference from the baseline in the intention-to-treat population. Mean decrease of both body weight and waist circumference in phentermine-treated subjects were significantly greater than that of placebo group (weight: -6.7 ± 2.5 kg, p < 0.001; waist circumference: -6.2 ± 3.5 cm, p < 0.001). Significant number of subjects in phentermine group accomplished weight reduction of 5% or greater from the baseline and 10% or more (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure between the groups (p = 0.122 for systolic BP; p = 0.219 for diastolic BP). Dry mouth and insomnia were the only statistically significant adverse events that occurred more frequently in phentermine group. Most side effects of phentermine were mild to moderate in intensity. Short-term phentermine administration induced significant weight reduction and reduction of waist circumference without clinically problematic adverse events on relatively healthy Korean obese people