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Can cannabidiol (CBD) help you quit smoking? Early studies suggest this natural compound could help reduce the urge to smoke, ease withdrawal, and break the cycle of nicotine addiction. Learn how CBD might be the breakthrough you've been waiting for in smoking cessation.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

CBD can help you smoke less:

Studies show that CBD can help reduce cravings and significantly decrease cigarette intake. Evidence from studies highlights CBD's ability to decrease cigarette consumption by up to 40% and reduce the urge to smoke. In contrast, placebo-treated smokers show no differences in number of cigarettes smoked.

Its interactions with the brain's reward pathways and the endocannabinoid system help reduce the urge to smoke.
CBD may alleviate nicotine withdrawal symptoms:

While findings are mixed, more recent studies suggest that CBD could ease withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety and irritability—key factors leading to relapse. Its calming properties and ability to reduce stress make it a promising tool for managing nicotine withdrawal.
A multifaceted approach to addiction therapy:

CBD offers a novel approach to addressing nicotine dependence, tackling both the psychological (e.g., reducing attention to smoking triggers) and physiological aspects of addiction. Although further research is needed, its potential to improve smoking cessation outcomes represents a significant breakthrough in addiction treatment.

Nicotine addiction remains one of the most pervasive public health challenges, with millions of Canadians struggling to quit.

Smoking alone remains the leading cause of disease and preventable death in Canada and worldwide. Nevertheless, while over 50% of adult smokers desire to quit the tobacco smoking habit, less than 8% are successful in the long term.

Current addiction treatment methods include nicotine replacement therapeutics, like nicotine gum and nasal spray, or pharmaceuticals like varenicline tartrate and buproprion hydrochloride. However, these options fall short and have low compliance rates due to their side effects, forcing individuals to seek alternative solutions.

Recent research highlights cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating component of the cannabis plant, as a promising ally in the fight against addiction, including nicotine dependence and withdrawal.

This essay delves into the findings of key studies to explore how CBD can: 1. curb nicotine cravings and 2. alleviate nicotine withdrawal symptoms that often lead to relapse, such as anxiety and irritability.

How CBD use may help you quit smoking.

While conventional methods like nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) and behavioral interventions provide some relief, success rates hover at ~35%.

For those seeking a better alternative, CBD offers hope.

Through its unique interaction with the body's endocannabinoid system (ECS), CBD is showing potential to address varying physiological and psychological dimensions of nicotine addiction.

In a pre‐clinical rat model of addiction, CBD (5–20 mg/kg) reduced heroin‐seeking behaviour and relapse, which was maintained for 2 weeks after taking CBD. A human translational pilot study also showed that a single dose of CBD reduces heroin craving in users during a 24‐hour period—and this was maintained for 7 days.

One neuroimaging study suggests that CBD acts on areas of the brain associated with assigning importance to things, including the striatum, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex.

Taken together, the experimental evidence provides a strong rationale to hypothesize that CBD is a potential treatment for substance use disorders like nicotine addiction.

While research on CBD for nicotine addiction is in its infancy, results are promising.

CBD may reduce your urge to smoke.

There is significant evidence that CBD can help you reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke by reducing your urge to smoke.

In 2013, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating CBD’s efficacy in curbing cigarette consumption provided 24 smokers with either a CBD inhaler or a placebo to use ad hoc (as needed) over one week when they had the urge to smoke.

The results were striking: Participants in the CBD group reduced their cigarette intake by 40%, whereas the placebo group saw no significant change.

In 2018, a randomized, double‐blind, placebo-controlled study on CBD for tobacco withdrawal provided participants who abstained from smoking overnight with a single 800mg dose of CBD, with equally astonishing results: Compared to placebo, the group of smokers that took CBD experienced significantly fewer smoking triggers, while reducing the overall appeal of cigarettes compared to placebo.

In other words, these two studies demonstrated that CBD may reduce your need for a cigarette, while making that next cigarette seem less interesting or appealing to the mind.

Interestingly, despite reducing smoking triggers, participants from these studies reported that CBD didn’t affect cravings or withdrawal symptoms.

However, research conducted in Washington State University found that CBD could inhibit the metabolism of nicotine, which could reduce cravings. The researchers tested CBD on microsomes from human liver tissue and specialized cell lines to see how it influenced nicotine metabolism.

The team found that CBD inhibited several of these enzymes, including CYP2A6, a major one for nicotine metabolism, leading them to conclude that CBD could curb the urge for a cigarette.

Research suggests that more than 70% of nicotine is metabolized by this particular enzyme, and that it could be inhibited by relatively low doses of CBD.

Altogether, research suggests that CBD may curb cravings and reduce the amount of cigarettes smoked.

CBD may ease nicotine withdrawal symptoms.

Researchers hypothesize that, because anxiety and irritability are primary symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, and because these symptoms often lead to relapse, CBD’s calming properties are particularly relevant to managing withdrawal symptoms.

However, there is mixed evidence around CBD's ability to ease nicotine withdrawals.

Older studies, like the 2013 and 2018 studies highlighted above, suggest that, while CBD treatment helped smokers significantly reduce cigarette consumption, it had no impact on withdrawal severity.

Conversely, newer studies suggest CBD oil may alleviate both nicotine withdrawal symptom severity and anxiety during abstinence.

A 2024 study on mice that were chronically exposed to nicotine showed that a single CBD dose both decreased nicotine consumption and reduced withdrawal symptoms. Importantly, CBD affected both male and female mice equally.

A 2023 human study involving 20 participants showed that 320mg of CBD 4 hours after abstaining from e-cigarettes reduced withdrawal and anxiety compared to abstinence without CBD.

How CBD works in the body to help you quit.

Physiologically, the abovementioned studies show that CBD helps block the reinforcing effects of nicotine addiction by interacting with the ECS, which plays a crucial role in regulating mood, stress, and reward pathways (such as dopamine).

Furthermore, by inhibiting specific enzymes, CBD can prevent nicotine from being metabolized in the liver, leading to reduced cravings.

Psychologically, CBD's interaction with the ECS significantly reduces anxiety and irritability, two leading causes of relapse, while improving emotional balance and regulation.

Studies also show that CBD can interfere with a process called reconsolidation (how our brain updates or changes memories), thereby reducing what's known as "cue-related drug-seeking," i.e. the urge to smoke.

"Cue-related drug-seeking" refers to the urge to crave or seek out a drug when exposed to specific cues or triggers associated with the drug. It's a key aspect of addiction, as the brain learns to associate certain cues with the rewarding effects of drug use, making it harder for someone to resist the urge to relapse when they encounter those cues.

By disrupting reconsolidation, CBD has been shown to reduce the attention and importance we place on smoking triggers, which may help reduce overall cigarette consumption.

A new frontier in smoking cessation.

Despite efforts to curb nicotine use, in 2022, more than 3.8 million Canadians smoked cigarettes, while 15 - 20% of Canadians reported vaping nicotine or tobacco at least once in the past 30 days.

Nicotine addiction demands innovative solutions, and CBD oil represents a promising breakthrough. By addressing the psychological and physiological challenges of quitting, CBD offers a holistic and multifaceted approach to smoking cessation by:

curbing cravings
reducing smoking triggers
preventing the breakdown of nicotine
reducing anxiety and irritability
promoting calm and balance

While further research is needed to refine its application, the evidence thus far paints an optimistic picture of its potential to transform the lives of those struggling with nicotine dependence.

With continued exploration and clinical validation, CBD could become a cornerstone of modern addiction therapy, offering hope and healing to millions.