What is Herbal Medicine?

• Herbal or botanical medicines are made from plants or plant parts (leaves, roots, stems, etc.) valued for  medicinal or therapeutic properties;  they may be used in various forms including fresh or dried plant parts; liquid or solid extracts; tablets, capsules, or powders; or tea. (http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/BotanicalBackground.asp)
  
  
• Most European countries recognize the effectiveness of medicinal plants, include them in their official government- recognized pharmacopoeias and regulate them as  they do drugs or over-the-counter remedies. At least 14 scientific journals worldwide are devoted to the study of botanical medicine. (http://www.findnd.com/main/info/education/)
  
  
• Medicinal plants are the source of primary health care to about 80 percent of the developing world's population (Farnsworth, Akerele, Bingel, Soejarto, & Guo, 1985).

How does herbal medicine work?

• “The word drug derived from the Dutch word droog, meaning to dry, originates from the use of herbal medicine: plants were dried and used as remedies. The history of pharmacy and medicine parallels to a significant degree the evolution of herbal medicine.” (Blumenthal, 2003)

 Just as synthetic drugs have complex reactions within a human body, botanical medicines are composed of many chemical constituents that can have a variety of effects. “Many drugs, including strychnine, aspirin, vincristine, taxol, curare, and ergot, are of herbal origin." (Jacobs et al., 1992).

• While some botanical medicines can be beneficial or benign, others can be harmful and may interact with other drugs that an individual is taking. Clients should be advised to consult with a medical professional before initiating use of botanical medicine.
   

What role does herbal medicine play in tobacco cessation?

• Licorice root in its natural state can be cut into sticks about the length and thickness of a cigarette, and can be chewed as a substitute for smoking. Licorice root is soothing to the throat and respiratory system. It also gives the hands and mouth something to do
  (Nebeldopf, 1987).
  
  Precaution Statement: Consult your doctor or pharmacist before taking licorice root, as large doses can affect blood pressure and fluid retention. Certain drugs and medical conditions may interact with licorice root.
  
  
• Lobeline sulfate, derived from the plant Lobelia Inflata, has produced statistically significant results for reduction of nicotine withdrawal symptoms in some studies
  (Schneider, Mione, Raheman, & Phillips, 1996; Glover et al 1998).
  
  
• Lobeline has been found to inhibit nicotine-evoked dopamine release and offers theoretical implications for use in addiction treatment (Dwoskin & Crooks 2002).

However,  definitive evidence regarding the efficacy of Lobeline sulfate  for smoking cessation is inadequate for it be recommended. Lobeline can be toxic in large doses and should be used only under advice of a healthcare professional (Leung, 1996; Robbers, 1996).

Botanical medicines with relaxant or sedative properties such as avena sativa, hypericum, passiflora and others have been used as adjunct therapies for smoking cessation; however no definitive research supports their efficacy for this purpose.
 

How to choose a qualified professional

CAM practitioners, including those who practice acupuncture, hypnotherapy and botanical medicine, are not regulated in some states, so clients should be advised to be very careful when seeking a practitioner for CAM treatments.  For further information on finding CAM practitioners, please see:

http://www.amfoundation.org/practitioner.htm
http://www.amsa.org/humed/camresources/mentor.cfm
http://nccam.nih.gov/
http://www.findnd.com/main/info/education/