Almost as many people are using marijuana to help them quit smoking cigarettes as are using prescription nicotine cessation aids, according to a new study conducted by officials with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and other institutions. The research, however, raises questions about potential side effects experienced by people who are using cannabis to quit tobacco products.
The study involved analyzing a survey of 2,804 U.S. adults who smoke cigarettes, vape nicotine e-cigarettes or use both.
“Among those attempting to quit cigarettes, the use of cannabis for cessation was nearly as popular as the use of prescription cessation aids, with products including THC accounting for most of the cannabis use,” the paper, published in Journal of General Internal Medicine, said. Specifically, 9 percent of respondents said they were using cannabis to quit cigarettes, while 9.4 percent are using prescription medications.
“Among those attempting to quit vaping, using any cannabis product as a cessation aid, primarily products with THC, was the third most popular cessation strategy, following quitting cold turkey and using another recreational nicotine product,” the study found.
For both people trying to quit smoking cigarettes and those attempting to stop vaping nicotine, “cannabis was more popular than behavioral health interventions” and “more popular than over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy and prescription cessation aids for those attempting to quit vaping,” the researchers at the San Francisco VA Health Care System, University of California and New York University wrote.
“THC is a popular tobacco cessation aid, with use surpassing that of evidence-based interventions.”
Although using marijuana appears to be a popular strategy for people trying to quit nicotine, the researchers also highlighted some concerns.
People who used THC products to quit cigarettes “reported greater severity of nicotine withdrawal symptoms, including feeling upset, thinking about food, troubled sleep, feeling restless, and trouble concentrating,” the study said. “Those who used THC to try to quit vaping reported more trouble concentrating.”
The results come as other evidence shows people are increasingly taking up marijuana as an alternative to cigarettes and, in some cases, alcohol.
A Gallup poll released this year, for example, found that a record-high number of U.S. adults now smoke marijuana while cigarette smoking is at an all-time low.
An analysis of federal National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) data published last year showed that more Americans now use marijuana than smoke cigarettes amid shifting perceptions of harm of the two substances.
More recent NSDUH data showed that Americans are now more likely to use marijuana nearly every day than they are to smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol on a daily basis.
Gallup has also previously published results in the finding that American adults are more likely to smoke marijuana than tobacco cigarettes.
A recent study found that people who consume cannabis-infused THC beverages end up drinking less alcohol.
Meanwhile, a study published this year by the American Medical Association (AMA) fund that just one dose of psilocybin combined with therapy is associated with “significantly increased long-term abstinence” from cigarettes compared to nicotine patches.
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