Smoking Chamomile: Does It Have Effects and Is Smoke Harmful

Can you smoke chamomile? Chamomile is included in smoking products: several brands of herbal cigarettes use it as one of the main ingredients (Mavroeidis et al., Plants, 2024). However, we found no measurement of smoke from chamomile itself in either PubMed or Europe PMC, so it is also unknown what effects smoking chamomile has. In the only found measurement of an herbal cigarette made from mugwort, carbon monoxide was 12.30 mg per piece compared to 6.07 mg in a tobacco cigarette of the same low declared tar. Similarly, a reference tobacco cigarette with higher tar produced 12.53 mg (Bak et al., 2015). From this text, you will learn what is known about the calming effects of chamomile, what changes with vaporization, and who should be particularly cautious.

KEY INFORMATION
• We found no measurement of chamomile smoke: a query yielded 15 results, none about this smoke (PubMed, September 16, 2026).
• An herbal cigarette made from mugwort produced 12.30 mg of carbon monoxide, a low-tar tobacco cigarette 6.07 mg, and a reference cigarette 12.53 mg (Bak et al., 2015).
• Studies with placebo concerned oral extracts, not smoke.
• EMA contraindicates chamomile in cases of allergy to Asteraceae.

What effects does smoking chamomile have?

It is unknown because we found no studies on these effects. A query in PubMed about chamomile combined with terms related to smoking, vaporization, and combustion yielded 15 results on September 16, 2026. None measured smoke or vapor from chamomile flowers, and none studied people who smoke it. The closest topic was a study on chamomile oil added to regular tobacco cigarettes (Coggins et al., 2011).

Chamomile itself, however, is present in smoking products. In a systematic review of plants that could replace tobacco in Europe, it was among the six species most frequently mentioned in the literature and in products (Mavroeidis et al., 2024). The authors add that cigarettes made from such plants should not be considered safer than regular tobacco.

The search and review together show a gap. Chamomile is sometimes one of the main ingredients in herbal cigarettes, and we found no measurement of what is produced when it is burned. Every statement about the effects of such smoke, including calming effects, is therefore a supposition, not a result of research.

Does the calming effect of chamomile transfer to smoke?

There is no data on this because the placebo studies we found concerned swallowing the extract. In a study on anxiety, 57 people with mild or moderate generalized anxiety disorder took capsules with the extract for 8 weeks, 220 mg, up to 1100 mg per day, or placebo (Amsterdam et al., 2009).

Anxiety on the HAM-A scale decreased in the chamomile group by 3.17 points more than after placebo, with p equal to 0.047 and a 95% confidence interval from 0.45 to 6.29. This result is just at the threshold of statistical significance.

For insomnia, the result was weaker. In a pilot study, 34 people with chronic primary insomnia took the extract in tablets, 270 mg twice a day, or placebo for 28 days. In sleep diaries, there were no significant differences between the groups (Zick et al., 2011).

The infusion was checked in one found study, without placebo. Among 80 postpartum women with poor sleep quality, those who drank chamomile tea for 2 weeks had fewer physical symptoms disrupting sleep and fewer symptoms of depression than the group under regular care. After 4 weeks, the results of both groups were similar (Chang and Chen, 2016).

Together, these works show why the results cannot be transferred to smoke. Placebo studies provided a known amount of extract, and in Zick et al.’s tablets, at least 2.5 mg of apigenin, a chamomile flavonoid, was declared per piece. We found no measurement of how much apigenin survives burning and reaches the lungs. The European Medicines Agency does not list sleep or anxiety among the recognized uses of chamomile (EMA, summary). As forms of use, it lists among others tea for drinking and for inhalation, but not smoking. What is known about oral chamomile is described in our entry about chamomile for sleep and generalized anxiety.

Is chamomile smoke milder than tobacco smoke?

There is no evidence for this, and in the only found measurement of an herbal cigarette, the smoke had more carbon monoxide than a tobacco cigarette of the same low declared tar. This cigarette, made from mugwort, produced 12.30 mg per piece compared to 6.07 mg, and benzo(a)pyrene 2.77 compared to 2.29 ng (Bak et al., 2015). A reference tobacco cigarette with higher tar produced a similar amount of carbon monoxide, 12.53 mg.

The measured tar was 7.45 compared to 6.02 mg, although both packages declared 5.5 mg. No nicotine or tobacco-specific nitrosamines were detected in the herbal smoke, and it contained fewer aromatic amine parts. The condensates of both smokes were mutagenic in the Ames test, and the authors assessed their potential as similar, attributing it to combustion products.

Would chamomile smoke perform the same way? This is unknown because only one product made from mugwort was tested in three repetitions. The matter is not resolved by the water pipe test, in which the non-tobacco mixture differed from the tobacco one significantly only in nicotine. The source of carbon monoxide there is mainly the carbon used to heat the mixture (Shihadeh et al., 2012). We write more broadly in our guide about whether herbal cigarettes are really safe.

Does chamomile instead of tobacco in a joint reduce harm?

Only partially: replacing tobacco with chamomile removes nicotine from the joint but not smoke. In Europe, cannabis is combined with tobacco by 77.2 to 90.9% of smokers, depending on the country, according to the 2014 Global Drugs Survey (Hindocha et al., 2016).

The mugwort cigarette from the test described above also had no nicotine in the smoke, and it produced a similar amount of carbon monoxide as the reference tobacco cigarette. We found no similar measurement for a joint with chamomile. No safer proportions of herb and dry material have been established, so we do not provide them. And what about nicotine cravings? Chamomile does not contain nicotine, so it cannot replace it.

When quitting nicotine, nicotine replacement therapy helps. In a Cochrane review of 133 studies involving 64,640 people, it increased the chance of quitting smoking for at least 6 months, relative risk 1.55 (Hartmann-Boyce et al., 2018).

Adding chamomile does not change the legal situation either. Cannabis with a total delta-9-THC and THCA sum above 0.3% is a narcotic in Poland (art. 4 point 37 of the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction, Journal of Laws 2023 item 1939 as amended). More about removing tobacco from the joint is discussed in the text about what to smoke instead of tobacco.

Is vaporizing chamomile safer than smoking?

For chamomile, we found no such comparison. A search in Europe PMC about chamomile combined with a vaporizer, herbal cigarette, or smoking blend yielded 23 results on September 16, 2026. None measured vapor or smoke from chamomile. The found data on vaporization in people concerns cannabis.

In a survey of 6,883 people, those who mainly vaporized cannabis had a respiratory symptom odds ratio of 0.40 compared to smokers. However, only 152 people vaporized, and the data were self-reported (Earleywine and Barnwell, 2007). In a hospital study on 18 volunteers, the level of carbon monoxide in exhaled air was lower after vaporization than after smoking (Abrams et al., 2007).

The range of 125-150 degrees for chamomile is provided in our guide to herb vaporization. These are values from device instructions, not measurements. For comparison, benzo(a)pyrene and phenols are produced in cigarettes at around 860 degrees (Bak et al., 2015). However, we found no source showing that chamomile does not burn in a vaporizer.

Devices with adjustable temperature can be found in the vaporizer category, and accessories for grinding herbs in the grinders category. Vaporization is still inhaling hot aerosol, so it is not neutral for the lungs.

Who should not smoke or vaporize chamomile?

Primarily, people allergic to Asteraceae plants, which include chamomile and mugwort. The EU monograph considers such an allergy a contraindication (EMA/HMPC/55843/2011). Reactions also occur after inhalation: in 16 out of 24 people with asthma or rhinitis, mainly allergic to mugwort, bronchial provocation with chamomile pollen extract was positive (de la Torre Morín et al., 2001).

Occupational asthma from chamomile dust has also been described in a worker packing herbal teas. In an exposure chamber, the aerosolized extract from chamomile flowers immediately reduced the amount of air exhaled in the first second by 17% (Cerri et al., 2017).

In cases of combined allergy to mugwort and chamomile, the primary allergy is to mugwort pollen, and symptoms after contact with chamomile infusion range from conjunctivitis to anaphylaxis. Well-documented cases of anaphylaxis are few, but the authors of the review consider the frequency of this association to be underestimated (Preda et al., Medicina, 2024).

From these works, it follows that inhaling chamomile by allergic individuals is not an unexplored topic. Pollen extract and flower extract administered by inhalation triggered bronchial reactions, although none of these works concerned smoke. Whether chamomile allergens survive burning is unknown; the lack of data does not prove that smoke is safe for allergic individuals.

During pregnancy and breastfeeding, the EMA has recognized the safety of only crushed flowers, and extracts are not recommended during this time. The monograph says nothing about smoke. We advise against smoking anything for people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or suffering from asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. If you are taking medications regularly, check the table on what herbs should not be combined.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you smoke chamomile?

Chamomile is sometimes one of the main ingredients in herbal cigarettes (Mavroeidis et al., 2024), but we found no studies on its smoke. A query in PubMed yielded 15 results on September 16, 2026, none about this smoke. Burning plants produces carbon monoxide: an herbal cigarette made from mugwort produced 12.30 mg per piece (Bak et al., 2015).

Does smoking chamomile have a calming effect?

We found no studies on chamomile smoke. An anxiolytic effect was described for the extract in capsules: in 57 people with generalized anxiety disorder, anxiety on the HAM-A scale decreased over 8 weeks by 3.17 points more than after placebo, with p equal to 0.047 (Amsterdam et al., 2009). We found no measurement of how much of the substance from the flower survives burning.

Does smoking chamomile help quit smoking?

We found no evidence for this, and chamomile does not contain nicotine, so it cannot replace it. In a Cochrane review of 133 studies involving 64,640 people, nicotine replacement therapy increased the chance of quitting smoking for at least 6 months, relative risk 1.55 (Hartmann-Boyce et al., 2018).

What is the vaporization temperature of chamomile?

In our guide to herb vaporization, we provide 125-150 degrees, but these are values from device instructions, not measurements. A search in Europe PMC yielded 23 results on September 16, 2026, and none measured vapor from chamomile. The found data comparing vaporization to smoking concerns cannabis (Earleywine and Barnwell, 2007).

Can smoking chamomile cause allergies?

We found no studies on chamomile smoke regarding allergies, but people allergic to Asteraceae have reason to be cautious. EMA considers this allergy a contraindication, and in 16 out of 24 people allergic mainly to mugwort, bronchial provocation with chamomile pollen extract was positive (de la Torre Morín et al., 2001).

This article is for informational and educational purposes and does not replace consultation with a doctor. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medications, or have chronic conditions, consult the use of supplements or herbs with a specialist.

Author: Michał Waluk · Published: 2026-08-24 · Updated: 2026-09-17