Using Hemp Cigarettes to Quit Smoking: 3 Ways Hemp Helped Me Quit Tobacco

Kicking the habit

Hemp cigarettes are literally exploding in popularity right now, as more and more people realize that you can use hemp cigarettes to quit smoking traditional tobacco cigarettes. I recently quit smoking tobacco and want to share how I did it and how you can do it too.

I’m aware that using hemp cigarettes to quit smoking sounds counterintuitive (using cigarettes to help you give up cigarettes), but bear with me here. In this article I’m going to briefly discuss the main cravings I felt when I gave up tobacco and why this led me to believe that hemp cigarettes were going to help me quit traditional cigarettes.

Using hemp cigarettes and understanding your cravings

When you quit smoking, it’s important that you think about the reasons why you want to quit, understand what cravings look like, and what you think you’ll miss about smoking regular cigarettes the most. That way you can be as prepared as possible for when the cravings start, which will kind of be immediately.

The cravings may manifest themselves in many strange and unexpected ways. Some of the times that I found the hardest to get through include:

1. The feeling that caught in my chest when I thought about having one (and hadn’t had one for a while) 
2. Suddenly not knowing what to do in my lunch break anymore, or any break for that matter, and what happens to my cigarette break?
3. My brain suddenly turning against me and telling me that maybe I don’t want to give up after all 
4. Missing the feeling of the smoke hitting the back of my throat 
5. Confusing nicotine withdrawals for hunger pains and eating the entire contents of the fridge 
6. Everyday habitual triggers, including after a meal, sex, or simply the smell of coffee 

Having unsuccessfully quit smoking in the past, I knew what cravings looked like and was much more prepared for them this time. One of the first things I did this time was to write my goals down that included all of the reasons I wanted to quit in the first place. That way, my brain couldn’t get the better of me (see craving number three).

I also realized that only some of the intense cravings I was experiencing were caused by the nicotine withdrawals (1, 3, and 5), while others were created by the force of habit (2, 4, and 6). Having created a pattern of smoking within my life for the past 25 years, I didn’t just miss the chemical, I missed the ritual too.

You can help reduce the physical nicotine cravings with nicotine replacement therapies, but having something that helped to address the physical tobacco cigarette habit was vital for me in order to stay quit.

And that’s where hemp cigarettes step in…

How can hemp cigarettes help you quit smoking tobacco? 

So, can hemp cigarettes help you quit smoking cigarettes? Yes, they can and did for me! Here are three ways hemp cigarettes helped me quit tobacco and will help you do the same.

3 ways hemp cigarettes will help you quit tobacco

1. They satiate the immediate craving

Maybe this is because smoking a hemp cigarette tricks your brain a little bit, but I felt that smoking hemp cigarettes satiated my desire for a cigarette in the same way that a tobacco cigarette would have. The intense nicotine craving dissipated quickly and I felt much calmer and satisfied afterwards.

2. CBD can help alleviate anxiety

When you’re going through nicotine withdrawal, feelings of anxiety and stress are very common as your body thinks there’s something wrong because it isn’t getting its “fix”. Anxiety and stress are also common cigarette craving triggers, leaving you in a vicious cycle of anxiety triggering anxiety.

As you may already know, hemp cigarettes also contain CBD, which is widely known and revered for its ability to alleviate symptoms of anxiety. Having a hemp cigarette can help nip these feelings of nervousness in the bud, reversing the withdrawal symptoms and putting an end to your trigger cycle. 

This will give your body a chance to recover from its addiction and eventually your withdrawal symptoms won’t be as severe.

3. They allow you to enjoy the simple pleasure of smoking

Nicotine withdrawals peak in days one to three and then last for a few weeks. But if I fancy a smoke with my beer six weeks later, is this still the nicotine I’m missing or the physical act of smoking something? This is where hemp cigarettes, like OK Smokes, become heroes for me, because it’s not just about quitting tobacco, it’s about staying quit.

One of the massive benefits of smoking hemp cigarettes is that there’s no chemical addiction and there’s no slippery slope to slide back down. They allow me to enjoy the simple act of smoking, without dragging me back into the addict underworld of wanting nicotine from morning to night, which a tobacco cigarette undoubtedly would.

Smoking hemp vs tobacco actually feels like more of an occasion. These days, I’m just enjoying the act of smoking for exactly what it is and my cigarette consumption is about a tenth, or less, of what it used to be.

You can also roll a hemp joint

Early research shows that CBD can help with addiction

Early research also suggests that the CBD compound could be beneficial for both cannabis and tobacco addiction in humans. One small 2013 study on 24 dependent tobacco smokers, showed a significant reduction in smoking (~40%), when CBD was administered (via an inhaler) against a placebo.

This team of researchers concluded that, “These preliminary data, combined with the strong preclinical rationale for use of this compound, suggest CBD to be a potential treatment for nicotine addiction that warrants further exploration.”

A further human study involving 30 dependent cigarette smokers was then published in 2018. The team of researchers responsible for the research found that CBD reversed attentional bias to cigarette cues, also concluding that their “results support the growing literature regarding CBD in the treatment of addictive disorders.”

Choosing your hemp cigarettes

It’s important that you enjoy the hemp cigarettes you’re smoking and because they vary wildly in quality and CBD content, it’s important to source the right hemp smokes for your needs.

I have personally tried and tested 12 hemp cigarette brands over the last few months and reviewed them all for this website. I wanted to find the best CBD cigarettes to give up with, so it made sense to share my research here. If you don’t know where to start when it comes to choosing a good brand, then I can highly recommend OK Smokes (you can read my Oklahoma Smokes review here).

I had OK Smokes (along with 11 other brands) independently tested and can verify that each cigarette contains almost exactly 50mg of CBD (just enough for you to enjoy a subtle relaxing body buzz, but still carry on with your day) and only trace amounts of THC (less than 0.3%), so they won’t make you feel high.

In my opinion, hemp cigarettes are the best nicotine free cigarettes available, but if you can’t get them where you live due to local restrictions, then I also have some recommendations for best herbal cigarettes here.

I miss smoking… Not anymore I don’t!

If you’re thinking about quitting tobacco or if you already have and miss smoking, I highly recommend grabbing yourself some OK Smokes to help you through the cravings. Smoking hemp instead of cigarettes offers a helping hand for those habitual cravings that you find too hard to ignore.

It’s important to remember that smoking hemp, or anything for that matter, still carries some health risks, but I think you’ll agree that the side effects of smoking hemp are minimal when compared to an addictive substance like tobacco.

I’d rather be smoking hemp than tobacco, any day. I smoke less, I’m not addicted to nicotine anymore, and I’m happy in the fact that I’m inhaling fewer dangerous chemicals than before. And did I mention that I no longer smell like an ashtray?

If you’ve recently given up smoking, what helped you the most? We’d love to here from you in the comments section below!

You can also try CBD pre-rolls