Acupuncture, hypnosis may help smokers; IVF risks studied

Your Monday morning health roundup:
 Help for smokers:

Acupuncture and hypnosis might help some people quit smoking, say researchers who reviewed 14 previous studies. But it's not clear how many people kick the habit with these methods or how the techniques stack up against conventional approaches such as behavioral counseling and nicotine replacement, Reuters reports. IVF and birth defects:

The increase in birth defects seen among babies born after in vitro fertilization and other assisted reproduction methods can be largely explained by factors that contributed to their parents' infertility -- not by the procedures themselves, a large study concludes. One possible exception: A procedure called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) may raise risks because it is "mechanically more invasive" and may allow fertilization with sperm that would otherwise fail, a researcher tells CNN. Obesity and car safety: Obesity raises all sorts of health risks.

Here's one you might not think of: Very obese drivers are less likely than other drivers to wear seatbelts -- possibly because they find standard belts difficult to fasten, researchers say. Previous research has shown very obese people have an increased risk of dying in car crashes. Today's talker: A Phoenix woman faked breast cancer in a scheme to raise money for breast implants, according to police reports. The woman told co-workers and family members she had cancer and needed a double mastectomy. She raised $8,000 before her story unraveled -- after she paid cash to a plastic surgeon and turned down an offer of free treatment for her cancer.