08 Mar CBD May Help Reduce the Need To Smoke More Cigarettes

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Lazarus

Philip Lazarus, PhD
Boeing Distinguished Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences
Professor, Dept of Pharmaceutical Sciences
College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Washington State University
Spokane, WA 99210

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Smoking and tobacco use remains a major health issue. Smokers use cigarette over the course of the day because the levels of nicotine, the addictive agent in cigarettes and other forms of tobacco, dimmish with time in the bloodstream due to the breakdown of nicotine by enzymes in the body. By inhibiting the breakdown of nicotine in smokers, one would expect that the levels of nicotine would remain higher after smoking a single cigarette, and that these individuals may not require lighting up another cigarette so quickly, reducing the number of cigarettes smoked over the course of a day. This could have a profound effect on reducing the overall harm incurred from smoking or from using other forms of tobacco.

In a single previous study, smokers who used a CBD inhaler exhibited a 40% reduction in cigarette use. In addition, while cannabis users are often smokers, previous studies have indicated that they smoke less cigarettes than non-cannabis-using cigarette smokers. In previous studies published in 2021, we found that major cannabinoids present in cannabis like THC and CBD inhibit major metabolizing enzymes in our body, including several that are important in drug metabolism. We hypothesized that CBD and its major active metabolite, 7-hydroxy (OH)-CBD, may also be inhibiting one or more of the enzymes important in the metabolism (or breakdown) of nicotine.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response:  In laboratory studies, we found that both CBD and 7-OH-CBD can strongly inhibit the major enzyme involved in nicotine metabolism, cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2A6, at concentrations that are equal to or less than the plasma CBD concentration in people administered CBD in clinical trials.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Our studies suggest that CBD may help reduce the need to smoke more cigarettes or to decrease usage of other forms of tobacco. Also, since nicotine is the addictive drug in electronic cigarettes (e-cig), CBD may also be effective in reducing e-cig vaping, 

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a results of this study?

Response: Clinical trials will be necessary to validate our laboratory results and to establish the CBD doses necessary for a positive effect on reducing cigarette smoking and tobacco consumption in people.

Disclosures: Our work was supported by the National Institutes of Health National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences [Grant R01-ES025460]

Citations

Morgan CJ, Das RK, Joye A, Curran HV, Kamboj SK. Cannabidiol reduces cigarette consumption in tobacco smokers: preliminary findings. Addict Behav. 2013; 38:2433-6.

Goodwin RD, Pacek LR, Copeland J, et al. Trends in Daily Cannabis Use Among Cigarette Smokers: United States, 2002-2014. Am J Public Health. 2018; 108:137-42.

Nasrin S, Coates S, Bardhi K, Watson CJW, Muscat JE, Lazarus P. Inhibition of nicotine metabolism by cannabidiol (CBD) and 7-hydroxycannabidiol (7-OH-CBD). Chem Res Toxicol. 2023; Feb 20;36(2):177-187.

Nasrin S, Watson CJW, Perez-Paramo Y, Lazarus P. Inhibition of major cytochrome P450 enzymes by major cannabinoids and their metabolites. Drug Metab Dispos. 2021; Dec 49(12):1070-1080.

Nasrin S, Watson CJW, Bardhi K, Fort G, Chen G, Lazarus P. Inhibition of UDP glucuronosyltransferase enzymes by major cannabinoids and their metabolites. Drug Metab Dispos. 2021; Dec 49(12):1081-1089.

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Last Updated on March 8, 2023 by Marie Benz