CBD has become fantastically popular for its many therapeutic properties. Some of those include it's pain mitigation capabilities, it's dramatic effect on intense stress, and its emotionally balancing effects. So, is it possible that CBD can really help you kick that smoking habit?

In order to answer that question, we need to first understand both the physical and mental effects that smoking has on your body. 

1. We know that Nicotine is physically addictive. When smoking tobacco, nicotine (a chemical constituent of tobacco) is absorbed within 10 seconds by the mucus membranes in the mouth, nose and lungs. The nicotine travels through the blood stream into the brain. When the nicotine makes it through the blood stream, it actually stimulates the adrenal glands and your body beings to produce excess amounts of epinephrine... the hormone also known as adrenalin. It also causes the production of dopamine, a hormone that directly affects the brain's pleasure center.

2. The adrenaline and dopamine re-wire your brain...As your body becomes trained to expect the increased amount of these hormones (this process is called reinforcement), your body becomes dependent on them. Both epinephrine (adrenalin) and dopamine cause your brain to send signals to the rest of the body. Some of these signals are associated with the following emotions:

Courage 

Calmness 

Energy 

Pleasure 

Euphoria 

Peace 

Restfulness and 

Control

3. When you cut your brain off from Nicotine, you deprive it of these false signals. Your brain has been trained to cope with daily stressors with Nicotine supplements. Every time you drag on that cigarette, you get a hit of these hormones that tell your body "Everything is OK". That couldn't be farther from the truth. Your whole system is out of balance.

When you decide to quit smoking, you may be overwhelmed with emotions. Most of them are emotions of insecurity that manifest themselves in the following ways: 

Sadness 

Grief

Frustration 

Impatience 

Anger 

Stress 

Irritability and 

Restlessness

All of these emotions are a problem... In fact, they can be paralyzingly serious problems. 

So how can CBD help? 

There have been a number of studies over the past few years that have shown that CBD helps people quit smoking. Many of these studies use a CBD supplement and a Placebo and are conducted in a double-blind method... This just means that they have done everything possible to remove bias and provide controls so we get the most accurate information possible. 

What one study found through this method is that a group of participants actually reduced smoking by 40%. They proved this by using images to trigger stresses that might normally cause someone to light up a cigarette. The responses from the group that was using a CBD supplement was a 40% decrease in smoking whereas the placebo group had no significant change in their cigarette consumption. 

So how do you use CBD to stop smoking?

CBD in all it's forms will help to reduce the adverse effects and withdrawals from quitting tobacco. For instance, taking a daily CBD softgel supplement, a CBD oil or tincture or even edibles, will reduce the intense stress, apprehension, anger and negative emotions felt while quitting smoking. While vaping or smoking CBD often provides the easiest transition off of cigarettes, it is not a great long term solution as smoking/vaping ANYTHING has adverse health effects such as lung damage, so we advise against it.

CBD products like our WAKE Formula can be taken to start the day. Carry it with you and when you experience a triggering event, take a small dose of CBD. As little as a third of a dropper (about 10mg of CBD) can be enough to stave off the initial negative emotions that you will feel that trigger you to take a smoke. Instead of reaching for the cigarettes, take a dropper and pour it under your tongue. Let it rest there and take a few deep breathes!

We have worked with a Nicotine Addiction Therapist to create an e-book/guide to provide support for people who are ready to quit smoking. We will make it available for FREE right here on our blog in the near future, but in the meantime, if you would like a copy, please send us an email or chat and we will gladly send it over your way! 

Best of luck and lots of love and support from us here at Common Ground CBD.