Kicking a nicotine habit can be tough, but researchers from Washington State University say that small amounts of CBD can help people stop smoking cigarettes. The study found that CBD hinders the metabolism of nicotine, which may curb cravings for cigarettes.

According to Study Finds, the non-psychoactive cannabinoid known as CBD is one of the main components of marijuana but does not produce the trademark “high” cannabis is famous for. CBD may have many therapeutic effects ranging from pain relief to improving sleep quality, and now researchers say it can also help people quit smoking.

The Washington State University (WSU) researchers tested the effects of CBD on liver and cell tissue and found that it inhibited a key enzyme for nicotine metabolism. This potentially means that smokers can wait longer between cigarettes. While these findings are interesting, the scientists said that they are preliminary and that human trials need to be done to establish safe dosage levels.

“The whole mission is to decrease harm from smoking, which is not from the nicotine per se, but all the carcinogens and other chemicals that are in tobacco smoke,” said Philip Lazarus, a WSU professor of pharmaceutical sciences and senior author of the study. “If we can minimize that harm, it would be a great thing for human health.”

According to a WSU news release, cigarette smoking is still a major health problem with one in five Americans dying every year from smoke-related diseases. While other nicotine delivery methods including vaping, snuff, and chew are seen as less harmful they, too, can cause cancer and other illnesses.

The study, which was published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, found that CBD inhibited an enzyme called CYP2A6 that affects 70% of nicotine metabolism. The impact of CBD on this particular enzyme appeared quite strong, inhibiting its activity by 50% at relatively low CBD concentrations.

“In other words, it appears that you don’t need much CBD to see the effect,” says Lazarus. Lazarus and his team are developing a clinical trial to examine the effects of CBD on nicotine levels in smokers, says the news release, and then they hope to do a much larger study looking at CBD and nicotine addiction.