If you smoke, chances are you’ve thought about quitting or have even tried to at one point. After all, there are no benefits to smoking. If you’re a smoker, the only positive to another cigarette is satisfying that craving. But, as you’ll learn in a moment, CBD may be able to stop you from craving cigarettes altogether.
When it comes to the negatives of cigarettes, it’s quite a list.
Smoking cigarettes increases the risk of:
- Cancer
- Heart disease
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Immune system issues
- Arthritis and other inflammatory diseases
It also ages you much faster by breaking down your collagen, causing oxidative stress, and damaging cells.
So, if you want to quit smoking – what do you do? Get hypnotized? Try a patch? Go cold turkey? You could do these things. But, in tandem with those or not, you could also try CBD.
New research shows CBD cuts cigarette cravings
A study from 2023 out of Washington State University found that the most notable non-psychoactive cannabinoid in the cannabis plant – known as cannabidiol (CBD) – may actually be able to STOP cigarette cravings. [1]
Researchers observed that the presence of CBD inhibited one of the primary enzymes that metabolize nicotine.
What does this mean?
Well, when you crave a cigarette, your body is actually craving the nicotine, as this compound releases dopamine in the brain – a feel-good hormone. But if the enzymes that break it down are inhibited, then the body won’t be begging for it. The part of your body craving nicotine will essentially be shut off.
Researchers have determined that the nicotine-craving enzyme that CBD shuts off is responsible for about 70% of nicotine’s metabolism.
Imagine how much easier quitting smoking would be if your cravings were cut by 70%.
And this is just the beginning. CBD can also help you quit smoking in a few other ways…
CBD eases anxiety
Many people start smoking and continue to smoke so as to deal with stress and anxiety. Again, this is due to the release of dopamine caused by nicotine.
Thankfully, while helping to quiet one’s cravings, CBD can also ease feelings of stress and anxiety. In fact, human studies strongly support the notion that CBD can be used to treat anxiety disorders. [2]
Lower inflammation with CBD
It’s well established that smoking cigarettes promotes chronic inflammation throughout the body, though particularly so within the lungs. This can often make quitting even more difficult, as your body is under the stress of inflammation and looking for the dopamine hit from a cigarette.
However, not only can CBD limit these cravings, as we previously established, but it can also support a healthy inflammatory response throughout the body and help lower the stress caused by cigarette use.
CBD is also a powerful antioxidant that can help the body heal from the oxidative stress and cell damage brought on by cigarettes. [3]
Will you get addicted to CBD?
You may now be interested in trying CBD to help you or a loved one quit cigarettes but are worried that CBD will then become a new habit.
Thankfully, you don’t have to worry about this.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that CBD “exhibits no effects indicative of any abuse or dependence potential” in humans. Reports have also found CBD to be safe and well-tolerated in humans.
Quitting smoking with CBD
Research has found that CBD can even help you cut back on smoking. One study from 2013 found that – simply by taking a daily dose of CBD – participants were able to reduce the number of cigarettes they smoked by 40%. [4]
If you’re looking to quit smoking or even just cut down on the amount of cigarettes you smoke, then CBD may be for you.
But you want to make sure your body can actually absorb and use the CBD.
Otherwise, what’s the point?
SomaLeaf’s Micelle Liposomal CBD Turmeric can not only get fully absorbed by your body so that it can be put to good use, but it contains turmeric for further anti-inflammatory and antioxidant support.
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