Unlike the our
neighbors to the East, it has taken us here in the Western
Hemisphere a long time to officially recognize the benefits of
herbal alternatives. So overwhelming is our preference and bias
toward expensive physicians and pharmaceuticals that we, as a
nation, tend to overlook the natural, affordable, and often
safer herbal alternatives right under our noses.
This habit, however, has shown signs of changing in recent
years. The explosion of zinc tablets as a cold remedy forced
many of us to re-examine our addiction to chemical compounds for
health. Coverage by major media outlets turned Echinacea,
valerian root, and ginko biloba into national sensations. In
addition, the rise of natural food groceries, with their
prominent aisle displays of popular herbal alternatives for
treating everything from headache to foot fungus, opened
consumers' eyes to the wide world of natural remedies.
"Hebalism," or the medicinal practice based on plants and plant
extracts, has gained popularity in Europe, and shows signs of
spreading in the U.S. Of course, with the current state of our
health system, it's no wonder patients are seeking herbal
alternatives.
As far as smoking products are concerned, herbal alternatives
can be thought of as a kind of analog to the herbal remedies
that are gaining a foothold in natural food stores and
supermarkets alike. Like herbal supplements for health, herbal
smoking alternatives provide many of the same benefits as their
synthetic (or in the case of illicit smoking products, illegal
and dangerous) brethren without the unpleasant additives and
compounds of, for instance, store-bought tobacco cigarettes (Arsonic?
Nicotine? Who needs them?). And when it comes to herbal smoking,
the key to satisfaction is in the quality of the product and the
success of the mixture.