It’s estimated that over 16 million Americans live with a disease as a result of smoking. These diseases are cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and many more.

CBD acts in the brain similarly to nicotine. It provides a calming experience without being addictive, so smokers struggling to quit are wondering if CBD can help them stop this harmful habit.

I’ve been struggling with nicotine addiction on and off for years. I’ve tried countless products with poor results, so I decided to try CBD. Here’s everything you should know about CBD and smoking cessation, including the best products to help you quit smoking cigarettes.

 

Quick Summary

• CBD is a compound from the cannabis plant that provides a wide range of health benefits.
• Scientific studies proved CBD could help with cigarette cravings.
• CBD helps quit smoking cigarettes by interacting with the endocannabinoid system and influencing body functions.

 

What is CBD?

Cannabidiol, or CBD, is one of over 100 compounds found in the cannabis Sativa plant. Next to THC, it’s the main active compound. However, unlike THC, it isn’t intoxicating, so CBD won’t make you feel high.

Hemp-derived CBD products are legal under the 2018 Farm Bill as long as they contain less than 0.3% THC. 

CBD is available in various forms, such as pills, gummies, edibles, vapes, oils, and topicals.

Apart from CBD, these products usually have ingredients with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits, such as essential oil, carrier oil (usually MCT or olive), and others.

Current research on CBD is positive and shows it can help with anxiety, depression, pain, cancer symptoms, high blood pressure, and other health issues.

 

Can CBD Help You Stop Smoking?

Yes, CBD can help you stop smoking. Smoking cessation is a process. When you quit tobacco smoking, you experience withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, anxiety, sleep disorders, irritability, high blood pressure, and depression. This is why many tobacco smokers who attempt to quit fail. But CBD can help ease these symptoms and also avoid relapsing later on.

CBD interacts with receptors that regulate body functions, including mood and anxiety, which is how tobacco smokers can use CBD to get relief when going through nicotine withdrawal.

There’s also scientific evidence that CBD can help tobacco addiction. A study by the University College London found that participants who took CBD were less compelled to smoke while watching their friends smoking tobacco.

How Does CBD Help You Quit Smoking?

CBD helps you quit smoking by reducing cravings and withdrawal symptoms. CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in our bodies. This system regulates mood, appetite, pain, and other body functions.

 

• Eases Withdrawals from Quitting Smoking

Withdrawals are the most difficult part when quitting smoking. These symptoms can be brutal. They include anxiety, irritability, concentration issues, depression, and others, and are the main reason why people revert to smoking.

All withdrawal symptoms start from the ECS system. CBD interacts with the ECS system. For example, CBD products, such as CBD oil, supply the body with endocannabinoids, which protect the body against bad withdrawal symptoms.

 

• Lowers Tobacco Cravings

When you get addicted to cigarettes, you have strong cravings that make you smoke more and more. A common substitute to try and quit smoking is nicotine vapes like those from Vibez Air Vapes. However, they still have nicotine which can cause addiction. 

CBD can lower these cravings, which in turn lowers cigarette consumption.

 

• Gives You a Therapeutic Effect

You experience a lot of emotions when you quit smoking cigarettes. Together with withdrawal symptoms, these emotions can take a toll and make people revert to smoking cigarettes. 

Once again, CBD interacts with the ECS system and organs in our body, which brings an equilibrium. 

For example, CBD regulates the GABA receptor in the brain. Increased levels of GABA can make us feel anxious. CBD regulates GABA levels and releases neurotransmitters like serotonin that cut cravings, so your emotions are in check.

CBD can also enhance focus, improve your response to stress, and prevent anxiety attacks.

 

Best CBD Products to Help Stop Smoking

There are tons of CBD products you can use for nicotine withdrawal symptoms. 

Here’s a summary of the best ones:

• CBD oil — CBD oil reduces the degradation of anandamide, also called the bliss chemical. Normal levels of anandamide make you feel happy, improve your mood, and reduce stress. CBD oil is also easy to consume. Just apply a few drops under the tongue or add them to your food.
• CBD vapes —Can ease anxiety by providing you with the equivalent of a cigarette to smoke. But, instead of inhaling nicotine, you’re inhaling CBD goodness. CBD vapes provide quick effects and are compact and discrete.
• CBD powders — Are water soluble, so you can add them to drinks. 
• CBD capsules – Are soft-gel pills that contain CBD oil. 
• CBD topicals — Are best for helping you sleep when you quit smoking cigarettes. These are creams and lotions that have CBD and melatonin. It eases anxiety and provides you with a good night’s rest.
• CBD cigarettes — Gives you the same sensation as smoking the real thing, so you can fool your body and lower the withdrawal symptoms. 
• CBD gummies — Are tasty edibles you can chew whenever you crave cigarettes.

Also, be careful when getting full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, or CBD isolate products. Full-spectrum contains all compounds in the cannabis plant, including THC. Broad-spectrum contains all compounds in the cannabis plant but no THC. CBD isolate only contains CBD.

Full and broad-spectrum CBD products are a better choice than CBD isolate because you get the benefit of the entourage effect. This happens when the chemicals in the cannabis plant enhance the activity of one another.

Where To Buy Premium CBD Online?

There are countless CBD products online that promise to be a magic solution for cigarette smokers. But my vote for the best product goes to Keoni CBD.

This manufacturer is one of the best producers of CBD gummies in the US. Their gummies can help with cigarette cues, help you relax, soothe the pain, and lower anxiety. 

The manufacturer uses hemp-extracted full-spectrum CBD, so you get the full effect of cannabis compounds. Moreover, the dose of THC is less than 0.3%, which makes them completely legal, and you don’t have to worry you’ll get high.

 

Should You Use CBD to Quit Smoking Tobacco?

Nicotine is extremely addictive, and withdrawal symptoms can be severe. Luckily, a wide range of CBD products can help your tobacco addiction. You can choose CBD oil, gummies, topicals, and vapes, and you’ll notice how cannabidiol reduces cigarette consumption.

Make sure to buy CBD products from verified manufacturers, and you won’t struggle with tobacco cravings again.

 

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, April 28). Health Effects. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/health_effects/index.htm 

Farm Bill. (n.d.). Www.usda.gov. https://www.usda.gov/farmbill 

Hindocha, C., Freeman, T. P., Grabski, M., Stroud, J. B., Crudgington, H., Davies, A. C., Das, R. K., Lawn, W., Morgan, C. J. A., & Curran, H. V. (2018). Cannabidiol reverses attentional bias to cigarette cues in a human experimental model of tobacco withdrawal. Addiction, 113(9), 1696–1705. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.14243 

Best Vapes Canada. (2023, January 31). Buy Nicotine Vapes Online in Canada. Available at: https://bestvapescanada.com/

MD, P. G. (2021, August 11). The endocannabinoid system: Essential and mysterious. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-endocannabinoid-system-essential-and-mysterious-20210811256 

How CBD and THC Work Together: The Entourage Effect. (2019, December 13). Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/the-entourage-effect