The brainchild of engineer turn minister Gary Craig, the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) was introduced to the United States in the 1990s. It can be thought of as a simplified form of acupuncture, and works by manipulating the Chinese meridian energy system. EFT focuses on restoring the body’s energy field by tapping on a series of meridian points while thinking of specific issues (e.g. smoking cravings). Proponents claim that it has the potential to correct psychological conditions like addiction, anxiety and stress, and by extension, is able to help a smoker quit.

In a nutshell, EFT is about self-acceptance. The technique first gets you to acknowledge the psychological component of your addiction and to rate how strong your feelings about a problem are. You then start tapping on meridian points on your body while repeating phrases that emphasize the negative feelings. This then develops into a series of tapping, talking, humming, eye rolling and various other breathing exercises. At the end of the first round, you re-evaluates your feelings and find that the craving for a smoke is diminished.

Practitioners have said that certain exercises in EFT mimic those of the ‘eye movement desensitisation’ technique and might therefore work in the same manner. A few hospitals in the UK have also taken up EFT favourably. At the Forth Valley Hospital, people using EFT are told it is not an evidence-based technique but have been surprisingly happy with the results. A limited study by Wells in 2003 also found that EFT had better outcomes than ‘diaphragmatic breathing’ in treating phobias. On the other hand, a study (Waite and Holder 2003) comparing EFT, with no treatment and tapping on an inanimate object found decreased anxiety in all groups. This led to suggestions that EFT might be effective through distraction.

The problem with EFT is similar to that of other alternative medicine - it is unable to be put through rigorous scientific testing due to the great variability and subjective nature of the technique. Despite having no good randomised study supporting EFT, it does have its good points:

• Technique can be self-administered anywhere at anytime
• Non-invasive unlike acupunture
• Clinical results have been positive
• Relatively quick results