CBD May Help Curb Nicotine Addiction
Cannabidiol (CBD) could help this nicotine addict quit smoking.
According to new preliminary research, cannabidiol (CBD) may help tobacco smokers kick the habit.
Researchers at the Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit of University College London wanted to investigate if CBD could play a role in easing the withdrawal symptoms that typically make quitting cigarettes difficult. The study is the first to investigate the psychological effects of CBD on nicotine withdrawal. The results of the study supported past research from a 2013 study that found tobacco users who used a CBD inhaler whenever they felt like having a cigarette reduced their tobacco usage by 40 percent in one week.
The study consisted of 30 nicotine-dependent smokers who were asked to abstain from smoking cigarettes overnight, and were then randomly assigned to groups that would receive an 800-milligram dose of CBD or a placebo. Each participant was shown a mix of cigarette-themed and neutral photos while researchers measured their attentional bias. Researchers ultimately found that participants given the placebo paid more attention to the cigarette-related images than the participants who were given CBD. The researchers also report that CBD did not influence withdrawal symptoms or other subjectively rated side effects.
“Cannabidiol can reduce some aspects of nicotine withdrawal in dependent cigarette smokers, which include the attentional bias to and liking of drug cues, but did not affect craving withdrawal, cognition or impulsivity associated with withdrawal,” study author Chandni Hindocha told PsyPost.
The findings of the study have created excitement in the medical community. “Taken together, these studies suggest CBD could play a key role in helping people to give up smoking,” said Professor Yasmin Hurd, director of the Addiction Institute at the Mount Sinai hospital network in New York.
Researchers have cautioned that more research is necessary to confirm whether CBD can be an effective treatment for giving up smoking. CBD has already been shown to decrease impulsive drug use in addicts. Nearly five million people die around the world each year due to tobacco-related illness, 500,000 of them in the U.S.
