Ear Acupressure for Smoking Cessation: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Table 1

Baseline data for smoking-specific and nonspecific ear acupressure groups.

	Smoking-specific; ear acupressure group,; n or mean ± SD (𝑁=20)	Nonspecific; ear acupressure group,; n or mean ± SD (𝑁=23)	t-test or Chi-square test results
Gender
Male	8	10	𝜒^2=0.053, 𝑃=0.818
Female	12	13
Age (years)	50.4±11.49	49.8±8.53	𝑡=0.202, df=41, 𝑃=0.841
(range)	(29–69)	(27–68)
Marital status
Single	5	7	𝜒^2=2.446, 𝑃=0.294
Married/partnered	13	16
Separated	2	0
Educational level
High school	11	18	𝜒^2=3.408, 𝑃=0.182
TAFE	4	1
University or more	5	4
Country of birth
Australia	14	16	𝜒^2=0.001, 𝑃=0.975
Outside Australia	6	7
Age at the first cigarette	16.3±3.66	16.35±6.27	𝑡=−0.303, df=41, 𝑃=0.976
No. of years smoking	34.05±11.11	33.87±9.07	𝑡=0.059, df=41, 𝑃=0.954
Previous attempts to quit
Yes	20	21	𝜒^2=1.824, 𝑃=0.177
No	0	2
Other smoker(s) at home
Yes	5	11	𝜒^2=2.386, 𝑃=0.122
No	15	12
Karl Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence Score
Low	4	2	𝜒^2=2.522, 𝑃=0.283
Medium	10	9
High	6	12
Contemplation Ladder	9.4±1.35	9.17±1.75	𝑡=0.469, df=41, 𝑃=0.642
Smoking rate/day (no. of cigs)	15.14±7.44	19.11±6.85	𝑡=−1.189, df=41, 𝑃=0.076
Total no. of cigs smoked in one week	106±52.11	132.3±48.69	𝑡=−1.170, df=41, 𝑃=0.095
CO measurement (ppm)	23.4±9.02	24.65±10.27	𝑡=−0.422, df=41, 𝑃=0.675
Body weight (kg)	71.08±13.47	77.99±18.82	𝑡=−1.345, df=41, 𝑃=0.186
SF36 scores
Physical component	45.97±9.87	44.39±9.22	𝑡=0.540, df=41, 𝑃=0.592
Mental component	46.32±12.07	46.88±11.01	𝑡=−0.161, df=41, 𝑃=0.873