CBD Oils Used To Quit Smoking, Research Show Potential
CBD products have been growing in popularity in the last few years; this is shown by the large amount of CBD products that are now out on the market as compared to when CBD oil initially came out.
According to a report published by the CDC(1), 1 in 5 Americans uses some tobacco product, with a total of 41 million smoking cigarettes. Cigarettes are infamous for being a contributor to lung cancer and other types of diseases and problems.
There have been a large number of alternatives to cigarettes, which raises the question of whether CBD based products could potentially be a better / healthier alternative to the standard Nicotine patch or methods to quit cigarettes.
There are many methods currently out on the market to try and get people to quit smoking; some of these methods include nicotine patches, nicotine gums, and even e-cigarettes. The main reason people get addicted to cigarettes is the inclusion of Nicotine, which is a highly addictive substance.
One main issue behind these products is that they still utilize Nicotine, in smaller doses to slowly make your body less addicted over the course of time.
Can CBD help you quit smoking?
The research on using CBD oil as an alternative to cigarettes is still in the early stages; one study takes a look like a potential treatment for nicotine addiction and has started to see some positive results.
In a small double-blind clinical study(2), the effectiveness of CBD was used for the treatment of tobacco addiction. This study had a total of twenty-four participants who smoked more than ten cigarettes a day were given an inhaler to use whenever they felt the urge to smoke. Like any good study, participates were given the inhaler with CBD, while the other half were only given a placebo.
The overall treatment/study only lasted a total of a single week, which is a slightly limited time frame for an addiction study.
The report stated, “Over the treatment week, placebo-treated smokers showed no differences in the number of cigarettes smoked. In contrast, those treated with CBD significantly reduced the number of cigarettes smoked by ~ 40% during treatment.” This shows that CBD may be a way to reduce the need to smoke for smokers that are trying to quit smoking cigarettes altogether.
An interesting fact is that this difference wasn’t continuous, and after 21 days, both groups had returned to the initial conditions.
The research also stated “the preliminary data presented here suggest that CBD may be effective in reducing cigarette use in tobacco smokers; however larger-scale studies, with longer follow-up are warranted to gauge the implications of these findings. These findings add to a growing literature that highlights the importance of the endocannabinoid system in nicotine addiction.”
This research showcases that CBD-based studies will need to be continued and continued for a longer amount of time before officially being endorsed as a way to replace the other methods to quit smoking. Although CBD products are incredibly safe, any smokers trying to quit might want to give it a try if none of the other methods are working.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
*Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or prior to using any CBD products.
