Study: CBD Reduces Salience and Pleasantness of Cigarettes
According to a new study published by the journal Addiction, a single dose of cannabidiol (CBD) reduces the salience and pleasantness of cigarette cues, compared with a placebo.
“Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating cannabinoid, may be a promising novel smoking cessation treatment due to its anxiolytic properties, minimal side-effects and research showing it may modify drug cue salience”, begins the abstract of this “Randomized, double-blind crossover study with a fixed satiated session followed by two overnight abstinent sessions.”
For the study, researchers “used an experimental medicine approach with dependent cigarette smokers to investigate if (1) overnight nicotine abstinence, compared with satiety, will produce greater attentional bias (AB), higher pleasantness ratings of cigarette-related stimuli and increased craving and withdrawal; (2) CBD in comparison to placebo, would attenuate AB, pleasantness of cigarette-related stimuli, craving and withdrawal and not produce any side-effects.”
Participants of the study included “Thirty non-treatment seeking, dependent cigarette smokers recruited from the community.”
When participants received placebo, “tobacco abstinence increased AB [attentional bias] compared with satiety. However, CBD reversed this effect, such that automatic AB was directed away from cigarette cues and no longer differed from satiety.”
Compared with placebo, “CBD also reduced explicit pleasantness of cigarette images”. Craving and withdrawal, however, were unaffected by CBD, but “greater in abstinence compared with satiety.” In addition, systolic blood pressure “decreased under CBD during abstinence.”
The study concludes by stating that; “A single 800mg oral dose of cannabidiol (CBD) reduced the salience and pleasantness of cigarette cues, compared with placebo, after overnight cigarette abstinence in dependent smokers. CBD did not influence tobacco craving or withdrawal or any subjectively rated side-effects.”
More information on this study, including its full text, can be found by clicking here.
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Common conditions include joint pain and inflammation, insomnia, depression, and, most often, anxiety. for which cbd is used.