We all know that when it comes to breaking a habit there’s no easy road; that’s why using CBD to quit smoking could be a game-changer.
Quitting a long-term habit requires serious dedication, and almost always requires help — like replacing the poor habit with a healthier one, or using a patch or gum.
After all, according to the American Cancer Society, only 4-7% of people are capable of giving up smoking in any given attempt without medicines, or some other form of assistance.
It’s ingrained in human nature to seek out patterns — that’s why it’s so easy to form habits. We create our everyday behavior around the patterns and habits we enjoy. I mean, you know the old saying: Humans are creatures of habits.
That’s one of the many reasons quitting is so hard to do. But using CBD to quit smoking helps in a number of ways.
How Using CBD to Quit Smoking is Effective
First, you are able to replace the negative, debilitating, toxic habit of smoking with a natural alternative: your CBD oil. One option is even to vape the CBD oil, as some studies suggest the similarities in vaping and smoking are enough to compensate for the smoking habit and curb the desire.
Second, one of the best ways to break a habit is to remove the environment that triggers the habit. Simply put, if being stressed causes you to reach for a cigarette, treat the stress and that desire to smoke will go away.
And since CBD is most commonly used as a treatment for stress, and has been known to help calm both it and anxiety, you are getting the bonus of replacing the habit while removing the trigger.
Third, CBD can assist in soothing some of the most common side effects that come with quitting smoking — making it an ideal companion to help you truly quit. For example, since nicotine releases serotonin, the time between and while quitting cigarettes often emphasizes the sluggishness, stress, and depression that comes with a dip in serotonin. But CBD oil also has the ability to trigger the release of serotonin so it can calm the stress, anxiety, and irritability, making it easier to say no to the desire to smoke.
Additionally, CBD has anti-inflammatory capabilities so it reduces headaches and minor pain commonly associated with quitting.
What the Research Says
Studies on whether CBD can help break addictive tendencies, particularly nicotine dependency, are still relatively new and in the early stages. But the results so far are promising.
The studies began in 2013 with a small experiment that tested CBD’s efficacy on smokers who wanted to reduce the number of cigarettes smoked daily. Smokers were split into two groups and one was given a CBD-infused inhaler to use every time they faced the urge to smoke while the second group received a placebo-filled inhaler. The CBD group saw a 40% reduction in cigarettes, while, a significant contrast to the placebo group.
The theory that CBD can help break addictive habits was further enforced in 2017 when a study on rats found “evidence for the disruptive effect of CBD” on the memories and environmental simulations that prompted smokers to pick up their old habit again.
While still more research is needed to fully confirm the theory that CBD can help disrupt unhealthy addictive habits and prevent the urge to smoke, the preliminary evidence is strong in its favor. It could be that the answer to finally kicking that smoking habit is right in front of you: CBD oil. With its non-addictive properties and the multitude of other health benefits, CBD certainly appears to be a healthy alternative.
Of course, CBD is highly individual in its response and reactions, so always check with your doctor before adding it to your routine. But CBD oil could be the catalyst you’ve needed to quit smoking. If you’re interested in testing the theory for yourself, check out our online store for the highest-quality CBD oils on the market.
