NEWS
COULD CBD
HELP QUASH
SOCIAL
SMOKING?
MORE EVIDENCE OF THE COMPOUND’S POTENTIAL
AS AN ALLY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST SMOKING
By Gordon Stribling
A new study published in the journal Addiction has shown
that CBD could play a supporting role in helping smokers quit
cigarettes.
Researchers at University College London [UCL] found that
a single oral dose of the cannabinoid eliminated many of the
social triggers that cause former smokers to relapse.
Thirty dependent smokers were recruited into the study, with
some given an 800mg oral dose of CBD and the others given
a placebo. The CBD group experienced reduced attraction
to cigarette images and pleasure from exposure to cigarette
cues.
Dr Tom Freeman, Senior Academic Fellow at King’s College
London, who assisted in the study, said:
“These findings suggest that cannabidiol has promise as a
novel treatment for tobacco addiction. It might be particularly
effective when abstinent smokers are exposed to cues that
trigger relapse, such as when they are with a friend who
lights a cigarette, or in a particular place they associate with
smoking.”
This is not the first study to investigate CBD as a potential aid
in helping smokers quit. A 2013 study, also by UCL, found that
participants who used a CBD inhaler whenever they felt the
urge to smoke reduced the number of cigarettes they smoked
for the duration of the study by 40 percent.
Several experts expressed their support for further research
in this area. Among them, Professor Yasmin Hurd, Ward-
28 | VM17
Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience and the Director
of the Addiction Institute at Mount Sinai in New York.
After waiting years for DEA approval, Professor Hurd has
been looking into the potential application of CBD in treating
addiction to certain drugs. In