4 Herbs to Help You Quit Smoking

Quitting smoking is an incredibly challenging process. Many people are quite hard on themselves while trying to quit, feeling as though if they don't manage to kick the habit they have “failed.” A former smoker once shared a slightly different way to look at it. She said that each time she tried to quit but went back to smoking, that she was just practicing, getting a little closer each time to her goal. It wasn;t that she had failed at quitting, but that she was just getting good practice in and getting better and better at quitting each time. Eventually the practice of quitting became the new habit. She succeeded in fully kicking the habit and hasn't smoked in about 7 years.

My partner went through a period where she was a smoker. When she quit she decided that she just wouldn't smoke today. Who knows what happens tomorrow, but from now until bedtime she wouldn't smoke. She took quitting in day by day. This felt more do-able and also allowed her to celebrate getting through a day without smoking, allowing for little victories in the midst of the process of quitting. It didn't feel as limiting or restricting.

There are lots of ways to approach quitting smoking. It can be very helpful to have the support of herbal healing while quitting smoking. Incorporating herbs into your quitting process can help deal with nicotine cravings, encourage an aversion to smoking, and restore lung health.

Mullein

Mullein is an amazing herb and is by far one of my favorites. It is a wonderful herb at restoring lung health, moving mucus, and encouraging movement of the lymph. All of these things are helpful at repairing the damage from smoking by healing the lungs and moving congestion. It is also a very quieting herb, a wonderful help for soothing your way through tense times when you'd usually want a cigarette. It is a simple, yet super powerfully healing herb. You could also grind up the leaves and flower in with tobacco and smoke it along with your cigarettes. Eventually you can replace mullein entirely with the tobacco. Also, there is a recipe for an herbal cigarette at the end of this article.

Plantain

Plantain is a wonderful herb at moving congestion from the upper respiratory tract. It will move mucus from the nose and sinus cavities with its drawing action. It also encourages an aversion to smoking. You might find yourself skipping a cigarette or feeling unsatisfied after you smoke one.

Lobelia

Lobelia is a very powerful herb, so do use this herb sparingly. When I incorporate it into a tincture formula in a one ounce bottle I put in just enough to cover the bottom of the bottle, then I pour the rest of the tinctures in. This herb relaxes mucus membranes and allows congestion and mucus to move along and be rid from the body. This is very healing to the respiratory tract. The true benefit of lobelia to the smoker lies in the fact that it is related to tobacco and it fits in the the brain receptor that would usually be matched by nicotine. Therefore it quells that feeling of “needing” a cigarette. It is also so powerfully cleansing to the respiratory tract that you will feel the negative effects of smoking, feeling nauseous and tight in your lungs when you do smoke. It is a very relaxing herb which is helpful as you deal with the stress of quitting smoking.

Skullcap

Skullcap is an incredible herb for calming anxiety and releasing stress. Since cigarette smoking often evolves as a practice to deal with stress, it is very important to have relaxing herbs as part of the healing strategy for quitting smoking. Skullcap in particular is very helpful at kicking bad habits and addictions, such as smoking, drinking, or drugs. It is also a detoxing herb, which is helpful to cleanse and heal the body in the process of quitting smoking.

Herbal Cigarette Recipe:

1 part Mullein

1 part Skullcap

1 part Plantain

½ part Catnip

½ part Sage

¼ part Mint

¼ part Lobelia

finely chop or grind the dried herbs to a somewhat fine consistency. Pinch the mixture into a cigarette paper and roll and smoke just as you would a regular rolled cigarette. You can also roll a cigarette partially with tobacco and partially with this herbal formulation.

You can continue smoking these herbal cigarettes after you have quit smoking. All of the herbs are healing to the respiratory tract and relaxing.