Herbs for Lungs After Quitting Smoking (and a Ritual for the Old Smoke Break)

The first week after quitting, the hardest part for a lot of people is the gap in the day. The 10:30 smoke break is still there, the walk outside is still there, and there's nothing in your hand. A lot of people fill that gap with herbs for lungs after quitting smoking: a mug of mullein tea, a bowl of eucalyptus steam, a dropper of osha root under the tongue. Each of these plants has a long record of use for the chest and throat, written down by Greek physicians, European herbalists and Indigenous nations of North America. One of them can become the thing you do instead of lighting up.

Herbs for lungs after quitting smoking, and where each one's reputation comes from

These are the six plants that come up again and again in quit-smoking forums and herbal guides:

• Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)
• Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
• Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra)
• Eucalyptus (as steam)
• Peppermint (as steam or tea)
• Osha, also called bear root (Ligusticum porteri)

Mullein

Mullein is the tall roadside plant with soft, felted leaves and a spike of yellow flowers. Drugs.com's natural products monograph records its traditional use for asthma, coughs and tuberculosis, and notes that in Appalachia the boiled root was given for croup. Its tea is mild and slightly sweet, which is why it shows up in most "lung tea" blends.

Thyme

The kitchen herb. In Europe, thyme has a long history of use for dry, spasmodic coughs, bronchitis and whooping cough, according to the PeaceHealth herbal reference. The German Commission E monograph gives a tea dose of a quarter to half a teaspoon of dried herb per 250 ml cup. Most of its smell and bite comes from thymol, the same compound used in some mouthwashes.

Licorice root

Licorice has the oldest written record here, according to the American Herbal Products Association's "Herbs in History" series. The Greek botanist Theophrastus (around 371 to 287 BCE) wrote that it was useful against asthma and dry cough. In the first century, Dioscorides recommended placing the fresh root under the tongue for hoarseness. A 13th century European text describes licorice juice mixed with honey for cough.

Eucalyptus and peppermint steam

Plenty of ex-smokers lean over a bowl of hot water with a few drops of eucalyptus oil and a towel over their head. The European Pharmacopoeia requires eucalyptus oil to be at least 70% 1,8-cineole, the compound behind its sharp, clean smell, and the European Medicines Agency's 2014 assessment lists inhalation among its accepted traditional uses for cough. Peppermint does a similar job in a mug or a bowl, with menthol giving that cool feeling in the nose.

Osha has the deepest lung tradition of the lot

Osha has a record across at least half a dozen Indigenous nations, all pointing at the chest, the throat and the breath. The American Herbal Pharmacopoeia's 2018 monograph on oshá describes its main traditional use as respiratory.

The Comanche used the root for pneumonia. The Diné (Navajo) used it for a hoarse voice and credit the medicine to the bear. The Zuni used it for sore throats and body aches. In northern New Mexico, families brewed it as chuchupate tea for sore throats. The Lakota name is mato tapejuta, which means bear medicine. A medicine bundle found in Utah, dated to between 200 and 600 years old, held osha among its contents.

The bear name comes from what people saw bears doing. The story is that bears dig up the root when they wake from hibernation and chew it. Ethnobotanist Shawn Sigstedt later watched Kodiak bears in a zoo chew the root into a mash and rub it through their fur.

Osha is a member of the carrot and parsley family, a relative of lovage, and grows between 1,500 and 3,500 metres. Mara's Bear Root is a mountain plant of Northern Mexico. You can read more about the plant itself in our full guide to osha root, from history to harvest.

The 2008 UTEP finding

In 2008, Oscar Beltran at the University of Texas at El Paso tested three plants used in northern Mexico and the Southwest against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium behind TB. One of them was Ligusticum porteri, known locally as chuchupaste. In the lab, the osha extract stopped more than half the growth of the bacterium at the lowest concentration tested, and it showed no toxicity to human cells until 50 to 100 micrograms per millilitre.

A dropper in place of the smoke break

Here is where osha pulls ahead as a daily ritual. Mullein tea needs a kettle. Steam needs a bowl, a towel and ten minutes. Raw osha root is almost all dug wild, often from plants over ten years old, and it looks enough like poison hemlock that foragers get it wrong. A tincture is one bottle that goes where you go.

Take it when the old break comes round. Step outside at the same time, to the same spot, and put a dropper of Bear Root under your tongue. Hold it there for 20 to 30 seconds, then swallow. The taste is earthy and warming, with a sharp, celery-like bite from the root. Breathe out slowly while it sits there. Canada's QuitNow program says each craving lasts 3 to 5 minutes, and a dropper, a few slow breaths and a look at the sky fills that time.

It works any time of year: a dropper after your morning coffee, one in your water bottle after a run, one in an evening tea when you'd normally have had the last cigarette of the day. At 1 to 2 droppers a day, a 50 ml bottle lasts 30 to 50 days. The dark Miron glass keeps light off the extract, so the last dropper tastes like the first.

Best herbs for lungs tea

If you'd rather have a mug in your hands, the simplest move is one dropper of Bear Root stirred into a cup of thyme, peppermint or mullein tea. The celery bite of the osha sits well against peppermint, and you skip any brewing of the root itself. We cover the mug version in more detail in how to make bear root tea.

The mug matters less than the habit. Same time, same place, every day, and the 10:30 break becomes a tea break.

Bear Root considerations

Our recommendation: Contains alcohol. Not recommended during pregnancy. If you're nursing or taking medication, ask your doctor before using it.

Questions people ask

What herbs do people use for lungs after quitting smoking?

The most common are mullein, thyme, licorice root, eucalyptus and peppermint steam, and osha (bear root). Osha has the longest recorded lung tradition among Indigenous nations of North America, including the Comanche, Diné, Zuni and Lakota.

Is osha the same as bear root?

Yes. Bear root is a common name for osha, Ligusticum porteri. The name comes from the story of bears digging up and chewing the root, and the Lakota name mato tapejuta means bear medicine.

How do you take an osha tincture?

Hold 1 to 2 droppers under the tongue for 20 to 30 seconds and swallow, or stir it into water, tea, juice or a smoothie. A good time is the moment your old smoke break comes round.

What does osha taste like?

Earthy and warming, with a sharp, celery-like bite. It's stronger than mullein or thyme tea and pairs well with peppermint.