I'm on the same page as charm. Honestly, besides helping w/ appetite (I'm in a similar situation, solid food very, very difficult to get down/not a lot of appetite) it was a life saver during chemotherapy induced nausea. I'd go from being on the verge of vomiting to having a growling, hungry stomach. That is however, my experience.

And Lynne, Oil extract is available/can be made. A little goes a long way. Smoking is bad for you, even if the substance isn't carcinogenic, it's still resin/tar in your airway/lungs. It's not legal where I live in the US and varies state to state, although it's federally illegal. It's a very very stupid contrversial subject here (one of many)

I'd talk to a few people. Obviously you're not going to put something in your body you're suspicious of. I've heard many extremes, but more often than not people advocate it when ingested the right way.

Also, this might sound really dumb, and obvious, but the more physically active I try to be lately, the more appetite I seem to develop.