TRUessence ESSENTIAL OILS & ADDICTIONS

Help With Addictions
Anecdotal reports of essential oils being used to reduce the intensity of addictive urges are numerous.  Inhalation of essential oils has been reported to ease cravings for food, tobacco, alcohol and even sex.  Chemically, we can identify certain oils that stimulate or sooth the central nervous system in ways that would logically achieve such results.  At the very least, the sedative, stress-relieving oils would be of help in lowering the tension created in fighting these urges.

But it is interesting to note that some of these issues have been explored in carefully controlled experiments.  An early study at the University of Pittsburgh examined the effect of various odors on the self-reported urge to smoke in addicted smokers.  They found that certain odors did, in fact, reduce the urge to smoke.  The key observation was that it did not matter whether the odors were pleasant or unpleasant, but rather whether the subject associated the odor with a pleasant feeling or experience. 1

The impact of inhaling an essential oil on smoking addiction was also studied at the Nicotine Research Laboratory in Durham, North Carolina in 1994.  Three different groups of 16 smokers were not allowed to smoke for about 12 hours.  Then each group went through a 3-hour period where they were allowed to inhale through an inhaler, but could not smoke.  The first group had an inhaler with black pepper essential oil; the second group had mint/menthol inhalers; and the third group had inhalers with no aroma at all.  Although the mint group reported no improvement in managing cravings, the black pepper group did.  The researchers concluded :  “Reported craving for cigarettes was significantly reduced in the pepper condition relative to each of the [other] conditions.  In addition, negative symptoms of anxiety were alleviated in the pepper condition. . .”2

Korean scientists at Daegu Haany University worked with rats to demonstrate that inhalation of an essential oil similar to that of angelica (Angelica gigas) inhibited both neurochemical sensitization and behavior induced by nicotine injection.3

Studies have also been done on the effect of essential oils on food addictions and appetite.  Dr. Alan Hirsch, neurological director of the Smell and Taste Research Foundation in Chicago, pioneered the research that helped us understand that appetite is governed by the satiety center of the brain, and that center can be satisfied with aroma.  In his book, Dr. Hirsch’s Guide to Scentsational Weight Loss, he outlines how he was able to help subjects lose weight by using an ‘odor device’ or inhaler to provide strong aromatic scents to subjects when they experienced food cravings and before they ate meals.  The aromatic stimulation  reduced or eliminated food consumption because the appetite center in the brain was satisfied.  These reduced food cravings resulted in overall weight loss for test subjects.4

1. Sayette MA, Parrott DJ. “Effects of olfactory stimuli on urge reduction in smokers.” Exp Clin Psychopharmacol, 1999 May;7(2):151-9.
2. Rose JE, Behm FM. “Inhalation of vapor from black pepper extract reduces smoking withdrawal symptoms,” Drug Alcohol Depend, 1994 Feb;34(3):225-9
3. Zhao RJ, et al. “The essential oil from Angelica gigas NAKAIU suppresses nicotine sensitization,” Biol PHarm Bull, 2005 Dec;28(12):2323-6.
4. Alan R. Hirsch, MD. Dr. Hirsch’s Guide to Scentsational Weight Loss.  Element Books, 1997.