Quitting cigarettes had always been painful for Michele Fenzl, a 55-year-old computer operator from Denver. In 35 years of smoking a pack a day, nothing else could make her at ease. Until ear seeds. Last June, her acupuncturist(针灸医生), Karen Kurtak, started attaching tiny black seeds of a special plant to specific points on her ears, to relieve her desire twice a week with needles. It is hard to say which aspect of her program helped Ms. Fenzl stop smoking, but she believed her success belonged to the seeds she calls 'life savers' . Long part of traditional Chinese medicine, 'auricular therapy', as it is called, includes stimulating key points of the outer ear with seeds or needles as in traditional acupuncture. Ear seeds have long been used in America for addiction treatment. But today, with the growing demand for alternative ways, there has been an increase in the practice of using ear seeds for health issues from anxiety to pain. 'They are used for people in situations of trauma(外伤),' said Cynthia Neipris, a professor of the Pacific College of Chinese Medicine, which trains students to use ear seeds. 'And, because the seeds are worn home, its an added plus because it involves the patient in their own healing process. ' It is not known precisely how ear seeds work nor has enough research been done to prove which ailments(小病)they help relieve. But licensed acupuncturists as well as doctors from world-class hospitals recommend them. Dr. P. Grace Harrell, an anesthesiologist and an acupuncturist said, 'We dont know exactly what the ear seeds do. What I do know is that more people are wearing them. I have patients coming in and asking for the seeds. ' 'Do the wonderful seeds draw unwelcome attention? No one has ever commented on them,' said Laura Son Crant, 32, who wears the seeds because of her insomnia(失眠症). She said that pressing on them throughout the day has improved her sleep to the point that she cant live without them now. 'There are even those days when the seeds have fallen off and I want to go to the acupuncturist just for them. ' The passage is mainly about______.