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can cannabis help a person quit smoking cigarettes?
if a person does decide to give thc a try as part of a nicotine-quitting journey, edibles would likely be the logical choice.
jul 4 2022
3 minute read
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nicotine is widely known to be one of the most addictive substances. according to the centers for disease control and prevention , tobacco causes about one in every five deaths in the u.s.
while there have been some positive results from anti-smoking campaigns that have helped reduce the number of new smokers in recent years, nothing close to a cure for nicotine addiction exists today.
there are all sorts of products on the market that try to help those addicted to nicotine move away from tobacco, including patches, gums, lozenges and pills.
in recent years, some have even started to turn to cannabis in the form of cbd gummies and even thc. but can these cannabis-derived edibles really help you quit smoking?
recent studies have shown that cbd has been effective in helping with cigarette withdrawal and decreasing one’s desire to smoke. a study out of the university college london found using cbd helped cut nicotine desire almost instantly.
“the study found that after a single dose of cbd treatment, heavy daily smokers find smoking-related cues less visually attention-grabbing,” the university reported .
cbd and its connection to smoking cessation have spawned many brands to market their cannabis gummies to those trying to quit. when it comes to thc, however, there has been far less research done in general.
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further, with marijuana still illegal at a federal level in the u.s., it is much easier to promote cbd, which has been widely welcomed and is thought to have very few negative side effects.
when one looks at some of the benefits of medical marijuana and reference the main side effects of nicotine withdrawal, it becomes easier to see why some people are turning to marijuana to help quit smoking.
according to the national cancer institute , some of the most common nicotine withdrawal symptoms include irritability, insomnia, anxiety and depression. any one of these symptoms can be difficult to overcome on one’s own, but combine them all at once, and one can be left feeling debilitated.
coincidentally, it’s been reported that some benefits of marijuana include alleviating depression and anxiety .
with regards to sleeplessness, people in the u.s. have used a smallamounts of of weed to fall asleep on restless nights for generations. many of marijuana’s perceived benefits appear on the surface that they would directly benefit those experiencing severe nicotine withdrawal. but with limited research and a federal prohibition, it is still difficult to say if thc can definitely help a person quit smoking.
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if a person does decide to give thc a try as part of a nicotine-quitting journey, edibles would likely be the logical choice, as smoking a joint instead of a cigarette does not exactly constitute the whole “quitting smoking” idea.
that said, cannabis edibles may not have been highly effective at treating nicotine withdrawal, as it turns out, because they often take upwards of one to two hours to kick in and produce any symptom-relieving effects.
this may no longer be the case, however, now that several manufacturers in the u.s. have released fast-acting edibles.
these newly popular, fast-acting edibles use different scientific techniques, like emulsification, to get the thc into a person’s system much more quickly, mirroring the high of smoking rather than the delayed high of traditional edibles.
this new formula allows edibles to bypass the stomach and get into the small intestine faster, so the effect is more similar to smoking .
just like with almost all aspects of cannabis research, there needs to be more analysis on whether or not marijuana can help those addicted to nicotine and other dangerous and addictive substances.
if, however, a person happens to reside in a u.s. state where cannabis is legal and is ready to take quitting smoking seriously, it might be worth considering having fast-acting edibles on hand for whenever the urge hits to go out and buy a pack of smokes.
the freshtoast.com , a u.s. lifestyle site that contributes lifestyle content and, with their partnership with 600,000 physicians via skipta, medical marijuana information to the growthop.
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