Aromatherapy and Quitting Smoking

Abstract

Today, the treatment approaches recommended for smoking cessation are pharmacological and behavioral therapy. Both approaches are reported to be effective alone; however, when used together, the success rate increases. Modern medicine methods, however, often have a negative image due to cost, complexity and limitations in human life. For this reason, complementary and alternative therapies are widely used in the community for the treatment of many diseases in every age group. When people are asked why they prefer complementary and alternative therapies, the most important reason seems to be to improve quality of life by providing symptom control. Other reasons include economic problems, the lack of health insurance, the improvement of quality of life, the influence of the media and the environment, a strong belief that it will help, disappointment of conventional treatment failure, the noninvasiveness of most complementary and alternative therapies, fear of medical treatments, dissatisfaction with the current health system, medicines. Avoiding side effects can be called as a desire to have more control over health decisions. Contrary to many pharmacological and behavioral treatments that investigate the effectiveness of smoking cessation, only a few studies have included complementary and alternative treatments. Complementary treatment methods such as aromatherapy are thought to be regularly included in smoking cessation programs and their use should be ensured/expanded.