Use of a natural compound based on essential oils as a potential complementary therapeutic approach to smoking cessation

Abstract

Smoking is a major public health concern, given that the global number of smokers continues to rise, causing almost 8 million deaths worldwide in 2019, with one in five deaths being male. Therapeutic interventions that consider integrative health approaches have shown promising results in helping people to stop smoking, such as aromatherapy. Considering the potential of aromatherapy in interventions aimed at contributing to smoking cessation, which have already been described in the literature, the aim of this study was to evaluate a natural compound based on essential oils as a complementary therapeutic approach to help stop smoking. The design of this study is characterized as observational and was developed using a qualitative-quantitative approach with the participation of 15 individuals who had made the decision to quit smoking. This pilot study was coordinated by the Integrative and Complementary Practices outpatient clinic at the São Paulo Municipal Public Servant Hospital (MPSH-SP), a large, tertiary-level public care hospital in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. In summary, it was observed that anxiety, discouragement and stress were the symptoms most reported by the participants and were observed in 90% and 60% of those interviewed, respectively. Diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, respiratory diseases and other conditions were also present among the participants. Analysis of the Fagerström test showed that there was a reduction in the score classifying the degree of nicotine dependence, indicating a possible improvement after using the natural product under study. Despite the small sample size, this study points to promising evidence regarding the use of aromatherapy as a complementary approach to help stop smoking.