Making the decision to quit smoking is a complete life-changer, benefiting your mind, body, and wallet tremendously. But quitting is hard; whether it’s you who wants to be smoke free, or you’re a friend supporting a loved one’s struggle to quit, essential oils may be exactly what you need to help get rid of cigarettes for good. Regularly using certain essential oils can be very helpful during this journey by soothing common symptoms brought on by nicotine withdrawal, such as irritation, sleeplessness, and, of course, cravings.
Soothing the Side Effects
Unfortunately, cravings aren’t the only side effect to overcome. The nicotine in cigarettes stimulates the central nervous system, cardiovascular system, and digestive system. When the nicotine is gone, cravings set in, making it very challenging to keep away from opening that pack for “just one more.”
This is where essential oils come in. Certain essential oils are known to help curb cravings and lessen the intensity of cravings dramatically. In particular, Black Pepper is a known favorite to aid in quitting smoking because when inhaled it stimulates the respiratory system in a way that mimics cigarette smoke. Because of this, the body can comfortably sustain longer periods of being without a cigarette, which means fewer cravings.
Notably, Cardamom’s spicy aroma is perfect to encourage a calm, clear, focused, problem-solving mindset. When motivation begins to waver, reach for Cardamom to help you get back on track with your goals. In addition, when feelings of irritation occur, Neroli can help boost your mood and help you climb out of an unhappy mental rut. Tension in the head and neck can be a pretty common occurrence for anyone trying to kick their smoking habit. Thankfully, Melissa’s beautiful grassy, lemony scent can help provide relief to this discomfort.
Using oils known to uplift your spirit and ease tension can help provide relief. Oils such as Lavender, Chamomile, and Ylang Ylang are calming and help to relax nervous tension. Citrus oils like Lemon, Pink Grapefruit, and Sweet Orange are refreshing and bring about a brighter mood, which helps stave off feelings of irritability.
Furthermore, Plant Therapy’s Chill Out blend is packed with mood-boosting oils like Ylang Ylang, Tangerine, Patchouli, Orange Sweet, and Blue Tansy, making it a perfect choice when those withdrawal symptoms try to take control. Combined with these essential oils, Plant Therapy created this blend solely to help calm nervous irritations caused by lack of nicotine.
Personal Inhalers
To quit smoking, a personal inhaler can be critical to success. Personal inhalers are compact and discreet, so they are easy to reach for when the physical habit of smoking a cigarette comes along. Holding an inhaler in your hand psychologically takes the place of a cigarette. Breathe in deeply to calm the cravings and tension.
Using essential oils to help ease withdrawal symptoms can give you the strength and comfort needed to finally kick the habit for good. Below are a few DIY blends of essential oils that can be used to help bring relief when quitting.
Curb the Urge Inhaler Blend
What you’ll need:
- Aromatherapy Inhaler
- 7 drops Australian Sandalwood
- 5 drops Cardamom
- 3 drops Neroli
- 1 drop Black Pepper
What you’ll do:
Inhale throughout the day when needed to reduce feelings of irritability.
*For a printable version, click here.
Sleep Well Diffuser Blend
What you’ll need:
- 4 drops Marjoram
- 2 drops Roman Chamomile
- 2 drops Vetiver
What you’ll do:
Diffuse intermittently during sleep to promote restfulness.
Ready to quit smoking for good? Incorporating these blends of essential oils can help you wean off your smoking habit once you’re ready to take the leap into a healthier lifestyle.
Source:
[1] Rose, J., & Behm, F. (1994). Inhalation of vapor from black pepper extract reduces smoking withdrawal symptoms. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8033760
Lets hope this works!
Starting my journey! Wish me luck… to being smoke free ASaP!
You are doing amazing work! Thanks for sharing your wonderful post. I used to smoke at least 2 packets per day for almost 20 years. I severally tried to quit without sucess. It was in 2018 while visiting a friend when I learnt about Essential oils and the wonder drug Zyban and decided to give them a try. I’ve got zynan from “GETZYB2SS” ❤️ (you can search on Google). I’ve got great results with that combination. I took 1 tablet per day for 1 week and has never looked back. No claving and no side effects. After 1 week of no smoking at all, I gave the rest of the medication to a friend. The way I think zyban with oils have a degree of success is when an individual also desires and is determined to quit. All I needed was 3 days of no smoking.
Where can I place the black pepper (what points of body) to help with the smoking?
Hi Michelle! Congrats on your journey to stop smoking! For smoking, I would suggest using black pepper in a personal inhaler and inhale a few breaths when you’re feeling the urge!
Hello. Is there another essential oil I can replace Cardamom with? I have the other essential oils needed for the inhaler right now except Cardamom, but I’d like to try this with my mother.
Emelyn, we have two recipes on this blog that use Cardamom. Are you wanting a recommendation for the “upset stomach” blend or the “easily frustrated” blend? I’ll be happy to help!
After trying many things…I am ordering the Black Pepper EO and Himalayan Salt Inhaler. Here’s to hopefully being nicotine free for 2019!
I bought a Diffuser Bracelet can i just put drops of the black pepper oil on the lava rocks in Bracelet and it work that way too..
Thanks for the ideas. Black pepper alone in an inhaler sounds like a good idea – I use a craving blend now, but a single would be more helpful I think. I’ll have to blend my own Let it Go sans blue tansy. So many PT blends I want to try, but I cannot do blue oils. I’ll give these tips a try to get thru the last leg on my quitting journey – 20+ years, numerous attempts, but down to 1-2 a day.
I am currently stocking up on all oils I could possibly need to help me in quitting smoking. This blog is so helpful! I would’ve never thought of the Himalayan salt inhaler but this is great!
I’ve been using black pepper in an EO necklace. Its helped a lot! I added spearmint to mine to give it that “menthol” scent and whenever I have it on, it makes a huge difference. I haven’t quit smoking yet, but it’s only been a few days. I’ve cut my smoking down though from half a pack a day to around 5-6 cigarettes a day. I’m aiming to be completely “smoke free” by the weekend. This article was very helpful, especially for the side effects of quitting and what to use for them!
Thank you so much for sharing! Your experience with essential oils and quitting smoking can definitely help inspire others who are on the same path!
I was wondering if there were ideas about smoking cessation! Good to know.
thank you for the info. I am going to try it. can you put other Eo’s in with the black pepper like the ones you said for calming and irritability or should you put the black pepper in one inhaler and the calming Eo’s in another inhaler?
You can definitely blend oils together. 🙂
This is all very helpful as I’m on my first day of quitting smoking. I’m excited to use natural methods to cope with the mental and physical pain, instead of relying on medications (or sheer will power). Thank you!
Thank you for sharing! I hope these oils can help you out! If you have any questions about them, don’t hesitate to contact our awesome certified aromatherapists at [email protected]
This website has been most helpful, I’m about to quit smoking I’m not sure where to buy the oils and the inhaler.
I am going to quit smoking, been debating on this for a few months and I need all the help I can get to achieve this. I already have a few of the oils mentioned here and I am preparing so it will make this transaction possible. I can do this. Thank you for this article.
Glad it was helpful! Good luck, you can do it!
My friend has quite bad cold turkey when he was trying to quit smoking as he is a heavy smoker for about 20years . Running nose, lose concentrations. Which EOs can help him achieve a faster comfort and relief in the midst of quitting?
Let It Go has helped a lot of our customers. Some oils that can help support the respiratory system are RespirAid or Sniffle Stopper.
“Black Pepper is a known favorite to aid in quitting smoking” but there is no recipe for an inhaler…should I assume the inhaler can be just Black Pepper? The recipes listed above are for just side effects of the cravings…
Hi Dawn, some studies have shown black pepper essential oil to be helpful in reducing cravings and the symptoms associated with quitting. I would suggest using up to 10 drops in a personal inhaler and using as needed throughout the day. I hope this helps!
What type of inhaler are you referring to?
Here is a link to the inhalers we use: https://www.planttherapy.com/aromatherapy-inhalers-pack-of-3?v=1982
Thanks Felicia!
How do you use the black pepper to help stop?
Hi, Lisa, as mentioned in the article a good way is to put it in a personal inhaler,which not only helps with those cravings, but also gives on something to replace the cigarette in hand.thanks!
Would you recommend it alone in an inhaler? Or along with another oil?
From what I’ve heard from people and what I would think, the personal inhaler would be a good thing to use because it replaces that cigarette in your hand.
Wow I hope this works, I have been smoking since I was about 15 and now 60. I am ordering some. Thank you.
It’s not a cure, but a support that might be helpful. Good luck to you and stay busy ! 🙂
Thank you so much for this information. Could you please give me some pointers to help my husband who is trying to stop chewing tobacco. I’m hoping to get him on an herbal,blend but I know he’s going to have nicotine withdraws. Is there any oils I can use that would help him?? Thank you for any information you can give me !-
Thanks for asking Brenda! You can utilize the same oils that we recommend using for support with quitting smoking. Be sure to check back in and let us know how it goes!
AWESOME INFORMATION!!!
Great info thanks.
This is awesome! I’m studying to be a health coach, and this is a resource I’ll remember. I have enjoyed Plant Therapy’s effective “Sleep Aid” blend myself, and notice that it doesn’t have any ingredients in common with the recipe listed here for difficulty sleeping. That may just point to the wonderful variety of relaxing essential oils available, but I also wondered– does the Marjoram, R. Chamomile and Vetiver more specifically address the nature of sleeplessness likely to be experienced by those in nicotine withdrawal? Thanks for any insight you can offer!
Hi Susan, I’m so glad that you have found this to be a helpful resource and wish you the best with your studies. The recipe provided in this post is simply another amazing option to help encourage a peaceful and restful night of sleep.
Can you tell me the essential oils that are harmful to small
Dogs and cats?
Although this is a subject we are passionate about, and hope to be able to provide this information in the future, we currently do not have anyone on our staff that is educated in using essential oils on pets. For cats and other small animals, essential oils can be toxic and unfortunately, Certified Aromatherapists are not trained in the use of essential oils with animals. This is considered a specialty and requires additional education.
You may find this book helpful, “Holistic Aromatherapy for Animals” by Kristen Leigh Bell, in gathering more information on using essential oils with animals.