
The study points out cannabis health benefits, which tobacco lacks.
The study points out cannabis health benefits, which tobacco lacks.
Editors Note: This is a guest post.
Many non-contagious ailments cause millions of deaths worldwide. Unfortunately, tobacco addiction stands among the top triggers of such diseases. Each year, over seven million people die of tobacco-related complications. In the US alone, more than 40 million adults have a nicotine addiction. Worse yet, tobacco addiction therapies don’t seem to be efficient, for the most part.
Smoking cessation drugs don’t bring assured results in the long run. But there is a promising solution to this problem. CBD (cannabidiol) is an active ingredient derived from the hemp plant and widely used for medical purposes today. So can it cope with tobacco addiction? How to quit smoking cigarettes with the help of CBD oil? Read further to find all this out.
As most of us know, smoking marijuana leads to addiction. Is CBD addictive then? In reality, it’s not. Cannabidiol belongs to non-toxic cannabis ingredients and doesn’t alter your brain function. Therefore, you can’t develop a CBD addiction. Additionally, cannabidiol can alleviate the psychoactive effects of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the main active ingredient of recreational marijuana.
Nicotine is as addictive as hard drugs like cocaine. That’s why it’s so hard to quit smoking. Once you try to cease this deadly habit, you will face an almost impenetrable barrier of withdrawal symptoms. It’s not just the urge for another cigarette. Tobacco withdrawal develops within several days and involves headaches, increased appetite and irritability, anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, and depression.
The worst part is that you may feel this nightmare for weeks. If it was easy to withstand this period, smoking would not become a global concern.
So how can CBD help you overcome nicotine addiction? The matter is that CBD regulates the sleep/wake cycle, pain, mood, and satiety. It combats headaches, promotes restful sleep, and regulates blood pressure. Given that, CBD can relieve some physical symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, helping you get through this period without much struggle.
You pull out a cigarette from the pack, light it, and take a peaceful, long, and warm puff. You have been doing this for years, day after day. Stopping this is unimaginable: this ritual is engraved in your mind. It’s a part of your identity. But you could try a CBD cigarette instead of a regular one if you feel a desperate urge to smoke. It can become your first step toward overcoming tobacco addiction. By smoking the best CBD cigarettes, you no longer receive nicotine, which is much healthier. Additionally, CBD prevents most nicotine withdrawal symptoms from devastating your body and mind.
Therefore, you can preserve the smoking habit while replacing regular cigarettes with a much healthier alternative. It’s much easier to quit smoking this way than just bring a sudden drastic change to your routine.
Cannabidiol has evident, well-studied anxiolytic properties. Both animal and human studies show that CBD reduces anxiety equally to diazepam, a common sedative drug. For instance, CBD brings relief to people with public speaking anxiety. Also, cannabidiol shows immense efficiency against post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
All in all, it’s a powerful stress-relieving supplement that will help you cope with panic attacks and depression resulting from smoking cessation.
Researchers revealed a direct dependence between CBD intake and cigarette consumption. Thus, a 2013 study showed that tobacco-dependent individuals reduced cigarette consumption by an impressive 40% while taking CBD. Furthermore, CBD minimizes the pleasure of smoking cigarettes. In other words, nicotine won’t give you that pleasure if you take CBD.
A recent study has shown that smokers who took CBD felt less motivated to smoke cigarettes.
Under this trial, 30 smokers took 800 mg of CBD after overnight cigarette abstinence. The participants reported that they felt less pleasure from watching other people smoking. In other words, it was easier for the participants to ignore cigarette stimuli.
As for cigarette cravings and withdrawal, there was no significant difference between CBD and placebo treatment whatsoever.
However, researchers investigated short smoking abstinence periods (11 hours). It’s an insufficient time for the most physical nicotine withdrawal symptoms to occur. It might be a possible reason for such observations on CBD efficiency against tobacco withdrawal within this study.
So, as we’ve found out, CBD helps you quit smoking. But how to take cannabidiol to overcome nicotine addiction? Here’s a step-by-step guide:
There is one rule you should always follow: buy CBD cigarettes, tinctures, vape oils, and other products from reliable and reputable brands. For this, you have to check:
‘How much CBD should I take to combat my tobacco addiction?’, you may ask. The accurate dosage depends on your metabolism, weight, and the intensity of cigarette withdrawal complications like headaches, poor sleep, high blood pressure, etc.
Thus, you should consult your practitioner to decide on the initial dose and increase it slowly for better results. You can start with 12-15 mg of CBD per day to see how your body reacts to cannabidiol. If such a dose works fine for you, you can begin taking more CBD to reduce salience of cigarette stimuli.
CBD can become a viable solution for cigarette quitters. First, cannabidiol fights several tobacco withdrawal symptoms like anxiety, insomnia, headaches, and high blood pressure. Second, it helps you ignore cigarette cues. Third, CBD cigarettes can become a temporary healthy alternative to regular cigarettes on your way to smoking cessation.
Finally, CBD reduces stress, helping you cope with the emotional pressure. Given that, CBD is your option to break the suffocating chains of addiction and breathe freely in all senses of this word.
Cronos Group Inc. (CRON) (TSX: CRON) confirmed on Tuesday that it was having discussions concerning a potential investment by tobacco company Altria Group Inc. (MO) in Cronos Group. The company statement said that “No agreement has been reached with respect to any such transaction and there can be no assurance such discussions will lead to an investment or other transaction involving the companies.”
The stock closed 11% higher on Monday after rumors of such talk sparked a run on the shares. The confirmation of the talks sent the stock another 15% higher and was lately trading at $11.23, below its 52-week high of $15.30. Yesterday Cronos sent an email to MarketWatch saying, “We do not comment on market rumors.” Last week, it was reported by The Wall Street Journal that Altria was considering taking a significant minority stake in e-cigarette company Juul Labs Inc.
In October, Altria, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, was making headlines when it was rumored that it was in talks with another cannabis company Aphria. The Globe and Mail reported that Altria was considering an equity stake in Aphria (APHQF). However, the story source cautioned that a deal could take time to reach and that it could possibly end up not occurring. The Globe’s source said that the leadership teams from Altria and Aphria have met on several occasions. It was rumored that Altria would start with a minority stake and then ultimately push it to a majority stake.
Aphria issued a statement saying, “That there is no agreement, understanding or arrangement in place with a potential investor at this time” and then added, “Aphria will advise the investment community of any material changes, if and when they occur, in accordance with applicable disclosure requirements.”
Declining Sales
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that during 2017, about 249 billion cigarettes were sold in the United States—a 3.5% decrease from the 258 billion sold in 2016. Four companies—Philip Morris USA, Reynolds American Inc., ITG Brands, and Liggett—accounted for about 92% of U.S. cigarette sales.
By state, the average retail price of a pack of 20 cigarettes (full-priced brands), including federal and state excise taxes, ranged from $5.12 in Missouri to a high of $10.66 in New York, as of November 2016. On average, federal and state excise taxes account for 44.3% of the retail price of cigarettes.
Altria History
Altria was once known as called Philip Morris. It is based in Richmond, VA and its roots as a tobacco company date back to 1847 when it was founded in London. It was split off from Philip Morris in 2002. Its subsidiary NuMark is focused on developing and marketing e-vapor products for adult smokers and vapers. It also has a 10 percent equity investment in Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, the maker of Budweiser beer.
Altria generated more than $25.5 billion dollars in sales in 2017.
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