Smokers rejoice! There’s now a herbal lipstick to help you quit

A college in Chiang Mai unveiled an innovation to mark World No Tobacco Day on Friday – a herbal lipstick that can help smokers kick the habit.

The lipstick, created by students at the Lanna Polytechnic Technological College, is made from Ya Dok Khao grass (Leptochloa chinensis, commonly known as red sprangletop), which can be found in many areas of Thailand.

“Ya Dok Khao has been consumed as tea to help smokers overcome the craving for tobacco because it changes the taste of cigarettes,” said Siraphob Jaroensakul, the college’s deputy director who is supervising the project.

He said the college’s researchers and students added extracts from the grass to a colourless lip balm, so smokers wanting to quit can apply it to their lips. Frequent application of the balm will help them overcome the need for cigarettes.

Siraphob said trials among volunteers showed that 62% of the users had cut down on smoking after using the lipstick for four to six weeks. Of the test subjects, 69% said their lips felt slightly numb, which significantly reduced their cravings.

This innovative lipstick has also won the college an award of excellence from the Thai Health Promotion Foundation and Social Innovation for Creative Society, he added.

“What inspired us to make this lipstick is the continued increase in the number of new smokers, especially among teenagers and college students,” he said. “Smoking is the second biggest killer in Thailand, with more than 40,000 deaths per year and is responsible for at least 12,000 new lung cancer patients per year.”

The team is preparing to file a patent for Ya Dok Khao lipstick and is looking into ways of improving the product’s colour and aroma to attract a wider group of users, Siraphob said.

World No Tobacco Day is observed on May 31 every year as part of the World Health Organisation’s campaign to fight against the use of tobacco.