***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
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    Input: BACKGROUND Acupuncture is frequently used for  smoking cessation .  Positive results from uncontrolled studies have not been supported by meta- analysis of controlled trials . One possible reason for this is that the optimal acupuncture technique was not applied or that the technique was not repeated sufficiently often . METHODS A r and omized , sham-controlled trial was performed with 2 parallel treatment arms ; the participant and the evaluator were unaware of which treatment was received . Seventy-six adults who wanted to stop smoking received either 100-Hz electroacupuncture with needles inserted into the appropriate point in each ear or a sham control procedure over the mastoid bone . Interventions were given on days 1 , 3 , and 7 of smoking cessation . Nicotine withdrawal symptoms were measured by visual analog scale scores recorded in a daily diary for 14 days ; smoking cessation was confirmed objective ly . RESULTS There was no significant difference between the mean reduction of withdrawal symptom scores of the 2 groups from day 1 to day 14 . Fifteen participants ( 39 % ) who received electroacupuncture and 16 participants ( 42 % ) who received a sham procedure were abstinent on day 14 . CONCLUSION This form of electroacupuncture is no more effective than placebo in reducing nicotine withdrawal symptoms Introduction Rural US residents smoke at higher rates than urban or suburban residents . We report results from a community-based smoking cessation intervention  in Appalachian Kentucky . Study design Single-blind , group-r and omized trial with outcome measurements at baseline , 17 weeks and 43 weeks . Setting / participants This faith-placed CBPR project was located in six counties of rural Appalachian Kentucky . A total of 590 individual participants clustered in 28 churches were enrolled in the study . Intervention Local lay health advisors delivered the 12-week Cooper/Clayton Method to Stop Smoking program , leveraging sociocultural factors to improve the cultural salience of the program for Appalachian smokers . Participants met with an interventionist for one 90 min group session once per week incorporating didactic information , group discussion , and nicotine replacement therapy . Main outcome measures The primary outcome was self-reported smoking status . Secondary outcomes included Fagerström nicotine dependence , self-efficacy , and decisional balance . Results With post-intervention data from 92 % of participants , those in intervention group churches ( N = 383 ) had 13.6 times higher odds of reporting quitting smoking one month post-intervention than participants in attention control group churches ( N = 154 , p < 0.0001 ) . In addition , although only 3.2 % of attention control group participants reported quitting during the control period , 15.4 % of attention control participants reported quitting smoking after receiving the intervention . A significant dose effect of the 12-session Cooper/Clayton Method was detected : for each additional session completed , the odds of quitting smoking increased by 26 % . Conclusions The Cooper/Clayton Method , delivered in rural Appalachian churches by lay health advisors , has strong potential to reduce smoking rates and improve individuals ' health The efficacy of acupuncture in smoking cessation , and its effect on the urge to smoke are unclear . We evaluated the effect of a st and ardized protocol of transcutaneous electric acupoint stimulations ( TEAS ) on alleviating the urge to smoke .  Ninety-eight smokers were recruited in two double-blind studies . Participants abstained from smoking for 26 h , and were r and omized to receive TEAS alternating between 2 and 100 Hz at four acupoints ( LI4 and PC8 , PC6 and TE5 ) at four different intensities ( 10 , 5 , Intermittent 5 or 0 mA ) . The urge to smoke was assessed by the Question naire of Smoking Urges ( QSU-Brief ) . In Experiment 1 , the 10 mA group ( n = 20 ) was compared with the 5 mA group ( n = 20 ) ; the increase in smoking urges did not differ significantly . Considering the possibility that 5 mA may be an active intervention , in Experiment 2 , a true placebo ( 0 mA ) , and a proxy of placebo [ Intermittent 5 mA ( i5 mA ) ] were compared with 10 mA TEAS . In this experiment , 10 mA ( n = 20 ) TEAS showed a tendency to alleviate smoking urges compared with 0 mA ( n = 16 ) , and i5 mA ( n = 19 ) TEAS . Only when the data of smokers with Fagerstöm Test for Nicotine Dependence score ≥5 were analyzed that the difference between the 10 mA group and the control group ( 0 and i5 mA ) became significant . Based on these preliminary findings , we conclude that TEAS applied on the skin may antagonize the increase in urge to smoke in abstinent-dependent smokers . It seems warranted to assess the efficacy of TEAS in smoking cessation clinical trials involving a larger population of dependent smokers Summary Background Women born around 1940 in countries such as the UK and USA were the first generation in which many smoked substantial numbers of cigarettes throughout adult life . Hence , only in the 21st century can we observe directly the full effects of prolonged smoking , and of prolonged cessation , on mortality among women in the UK . Methods For this prospect i ve study , 1·3 million UK women were recruited in 1996–2001 and resurveyed postally about 3 and 8 years later . All were followed to Jan 1 , 2011 , through national mortality records ( mean 12 woman-years , SD 2 ) . Participants were asked at entry whether they were current or ex-smokers , and how many cigarettes they currently smoked . Those who were ex-smokers at both entry and the 3-year resurvey and had stopped before the age of 55 years were categorised by the age they had stopped smoking . We used Cox regression models to obtain adjusted relative risks that compared categories of smokers or ex-smokers with otherwise similar never-smokers . Findings After excluding 0·1 million women with previous disease , 1·2 million women remained , with median birth year 1943 ( IQR 1938–46 ) and age 55 years ( IQR 52–60 ) . Overall , 6 % ( 66 489/1 180 652 ) died , at mean age 65 years ( SD 6 ) . At baseline , 20 % ( 232 461 ) were current smokers , 28 % ( 328 417 ) were ex-smokers , and 52 % ( 619 774 ) were never-smokers . For 12-year mortality , those smoking at baseline had a mortality rate ratio of 2·76 ( 95 % CI 2·71–2·81 ) compared with never-smokers , even though 44 % ( 37 240/85 256 ) of the baseline smokers who responded to the 8-year resurvey had by then stopped smoking . Mortality was tripled , largely irrespective of age , in those still smoking at the 3-year resurvey ( rate ratio 2·97 , 2·88–3·07 ) . Even for women smoking fewer than ten cigarettes per day at baseline , 12-year mortality was doubled ( rate ratio 1·98 , 1·91–2·04 ) . Of the 30 most common causes of death , 23 were increased significantly in smokers ; for lung cancer , the rate ratio was 21·4 ( 19·7–23·2 ) . The excess mortality among smokers ( in comparison with never-smokers ) was mainly from diseases that , like lung cancer , can be caused by smoking . Among ex-smokers who had stopped permanently at ages 25–34 years or at ages 35–44 years , the respective relative risks were 1·05 ( 95 % CI 1·00–1·11 ) and 1·20 ( 1·14–1·26 ) for all-cause mortality and 1·84 ( 1·45–2·34 ) and 3·34 ( 2·76–4·03 ) for lung cancer mortality . Thus , although some excess mortality remains among these long-term ex-smokers , it is only 3 % and 10 % of the excess mortality among continuing smokers . If combined with 2010 UK national death rates , tripled mortality rates among smokers indicate 53 % of smokers and 22 % of never-smokers dying before age 80 years , and an 11-year lifespan difference . Interpretation Among UK women , two-thirds of all deaths of smokers in their 50s , 60s , and 70s are caused by smoking ; smokers lose at least 10 years of lifespan . Although the hazards of smoking until age 40 years and then stopping are substantial , the hazards of continuing are ten times greater . Stopping before age 40 years ( and preferably well before age 40 years ) avoids more than 90 % of the excess mortality caused by continuing smoking ; stopping before age 30 years avoids more than 97 % of it . Funding Cancer Research UK , Medical Research Council OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of bupropion for smoking cessation among Chinese smokers at a smoking cessation clinic . METHODS A prospect i ve observational study was conducted in a hospital located in Beijing during 2008 and from 28 to 31 October 2014 . A total of 287 smokers ( 265 men and 22 women ) were assessed using data from structured question naires at baseline and were followed up at 1 and 6 months . Trained physician counselors provided free brief education and individual counseling sessions for all participants at the first visit . A total 131 participants were prescribed bupropion in addition to counseling . The counseling plus bupropion group was compared with the group who underwent counseling without bupropion . Outcomes were self-reported 7-day point prevalence abstinence rates at 1- and 6-month follow-up and continuous abstinence rates at 6-month follow-up . Smoking reduction rates at 1 and 6 months were also measured . RESULTS By intention-to-treat analysis , the 7-day point prevalence abstinence rate of the bupropion group at 1 and 6 months was higher than for the counseling-only group : at 1-month follow-up , 26.0 % ( 34/131 ) vs. 15.4 % ( 24/156 ) , with OR ( 95 % CI ) 1.93(1.07 - 3.46 ) ; these rates at 6-month follow-up were 27.8 % ( 35/131 ) vs. 15.4 % ( 24/156 ) , with OR ( 95 % CI ) 2.01(1.12 - 3.59 ) . The 1-month continuous abstinence rate at 6 months was higher in the bupropion group : 26.0 % ( 34/131 ) vs. 14.7 % ( 23/156 ) , with OR ( 95%CI ) 2.03(1.12 - 3.66 ) . Participants in the bupropion group also had a higher smoking reduction rate at 1 month than those in the counseling-only group : 55.0 % ( 72/131 ) vs. 38.5 % ( 60/156 ) , with OR ( 95%CI ) 1.95 ( 1.22 - 3.13 ) . CONCLUSION Prescription of bupropion at this smoking cessation clinic was effective in doubling the quitting rates and smoking reduction rates among Chinese smokers OBJECTIVES To examine the feasibility and efficacy of St. John 's Wort ( SJW ) for  smoking cessation .  DESIGN This one-arm Phase II study utilized an exact two-stage group sequential design with a 1-week run-in period between the start of SJW treatment and the design ated quit date . A total of 37 smokers ( ages 18 - 65 years , smoking > or = 10 cigarettes/day ) were started on SJW . Thirteen failed to make a verified quit attempt on the pre design ated date and were taken off study result ing in 24 evaluable subjects . SETTING Smokers completed clinic visits at a cancer center with interval telephone calls and mailings . INTERVENTION St and ardized SJW , 450 mg capsules taken orally twice daily along with cessation counseling messages . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Subjects completed vali date d surveys and a focused physical examination at baseline . Evaluable subjects were defined as those subjects who made a confirmed quit attempt on their " quit date " 1 week following initiation of SJW . Smoking status was determined through self-report and bioverification using carbon monoxide ( CO ) testing . RESULTS Among evaluable subjects , the 12-week quit rate was 37.5 % ( 9/24 ) . Quitters had no significant change in weight from baseline to 12-weeks cessation . Use of SJW was generally well tolerated . CONCLUSIONS Based upon these results ( which suggest that SJW may be effective in maintaining smoking cessation ) and the high compliance and few AEs , we conclude that SJW demonstrates feasibility for use in smoking cessation . If SJW proves to be effective in larger controlled studies , it could represent a less expensive , more readily accessible and well-tolerated agent to promote tobacco cessation Acupunct 
    Output:
    
The findings suggest that future research should pay more attention to acupuncture for smoking cessation