Over the last several years, cannabis vaporizing or “vaping” has grown in popularity, just like e-cigarettes. But what exactly is vaporization, and is it safe? We’ll set the record straight.
Vaping vs Smoking
If you’re looking to get a better idea of the major distinctions between vaping and smoking, you’ve come to the correct place. Let me tell you something: You’ve arrived at the proper site.
In recent years, the debate between vaping and smoking marijuana has grown increasingly divisive among new users and connoisseurs. Many conventional smokers prefer to stick with what they’re used to, such as a joint, a bong rip, or a bowl. While many adore the convenience of vaping because of its ease in concealing odor, there is no consensus on whether or not it smells better than cigarettes.
What’s the difference between smoking and vaping, exactly? Is there a distinction between them, and which is better for you? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each, as well as whether or not you really have to pick one or the other? It’s time to clear up any doubts you may have about how vaping and smoking differ in terms of safety, consumption, health effects, euphoria, and even product quality.
Differences Between Smoking & Vaping Marijuana
Despite the fact that there are many high-THC strains and flower choices available on the market today, vaping has long been notorious for delivering a punch comparable to smoking dry flower.
Does Vaping Weed Get You Higher?
According to a recent research published by John Hopkins, vaporizing cannabis delivers a greater high than smoking the same amount of flower. This implies that if you’re using a cannabis concentrate, you should be aware of how much you consume, especially if you’ve never done it before.
Researchers at the John Hopkins Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit in Baltimore conducted this study, which included 17 participants and compared marijuana smoking to marijuana vaping. All of the people involved in the study smoked cannabis previously but were told not to smoke for 30 days before starting testing. The individuals then ingested cannabis six times over 8.5 hours during sessions.
During the research, participants were instructed to smoke and vaporize various cannabis products with varying amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (better known as THC), but they had no idea how much they were inhaling at any given moment to avoid any prejudice while completing drug impairment questionnaires.
At various times throughout the day, participants had their heart rates measured, blood drawn, and blood pressure assessed while smoking.
The researchers found that inhaling 25mg of THC, regardless of how it is taken, will lead to a full high. After not smoking for more than 30 days, many people in the experiment either smoked or “tripped” after consuming this amount.
Users that smoke or vape this dosage have reported bloodshot sore eyes, a racing heart rate, anxiety, and an increased appetite. These side effects peaked after smoking for the first time but were observed to last up to eight hours or longer.
The most significant discovery made as a result of this study was that the effects of vaping were considerably more powerful and profound at each dosage. According to the JAMA Network Open, “vaporized cannabis produced significantly greater subjective drug effects, cognitive, psychomotor impairment, and higher blood THC concentrations than the same doses of smoked cannabis” (2017).
The study, which was published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, indicated that cannabis users made twice as many mistakes on all of the cognitive tests and reported feeling significantly higher with the negative effects of being way high and paranoid.
Smoking vs Vaping Weed Effects on Lungs
Many of us have noticed that when you smoke a bowl of green flower, you cough up your lungs and even profusely produce phlegm. The smoke is harsher than a cannabis oil cartridge vape pen hit.
There are several causes for that. The first and most obvious reason is that when you smoke marijuana flowers, you’re actually burning the plant. Vaping is actually quite different from smoking cannabis flowers.
Watch this video to learn more about the impact smoking vs vaping has on your lungs, as it highlights how smoking vs vaping affects the lungs and overall consumers’ health. This film compares cigarette smoke with a nicotine vaporizer, but there is currently no data on the effect of cannabis vaporizers.
However, we are confident you will understand the distinction between smoking cannabis that has been smoked and vaporizing cannabis.
Vaping Safety Facts & Tips
In 2019, we learned a lot about how vaping affects our health and lungs. Vaping sicknesses were ravaging several demographics across the United States left and right. It had become so bad that the Center of Disease Control (CDC) issued a warning to the public urging them to stop using e-cigarettes until they figured out what was causing the problem. We’ve compiled a list of frequently asked questions regarding vaping below. According to the data currently available, vaping is still considered a lower health risk than smoking.
However, the long answer is that more evidence is needed because vaping is still so new to society. The contemporary vape gadgets didn’t appear on the market until 2003, but they became extremely popular in the mid-2010s.
With the rise in popularity of these technology, many black-market THC vapes were developed, which caused the industry to go into a tailspin. Continue reading to learn more about these black market vapes.
Effects of Vaping on Lungs
There’s enough proof to suggest that smoking flowers contaminated with pathogens, spores, and mildew can harm smokes with weakened immune systems. However, because vape cartridges are made from a sophisticated extraction process that only yields pure cannabis oil after, this cannot happen.
Using a vaporizer, on the other hand, is not without risk. Vaping cannabis isn’t quite as safe as smoking it because there are several factors that can affect your experience even if you use reputable equipment. However, vaping cannot be considered the healthiest manner to consume cannabis… Yes, you have a good chance of being intoxicated to the point of losing consciousness, but most or all of the vaping illnesses detected were due to impure, black market or unclean vaporizer cartridges that mixed pure oil with propylene glycol and vitamin E acetate. When burnt, vitamin E acetate has been shown to have severe detrimental effects on your lungs.
Harmful Negative Effects of Vaping
This new lung ailment, which the CDC refers to as EVALI, is due to e-cigarette or vaping product use. As of January 9, 2020, the CDC has received reports of 2,602 hospitalizations and 57 fatalities linked with this condition from all 50 states and territories in the United States and Canada.
According to several studies, vaping can damage blood vessels, cause lung scarring, inflammation, and fluid accumulation in the lungs. Most of these instances were reported by teenagers who said they had recently inhaled THC vape cartridges obtained from a store but not THC vape cartridges produced at a marijuana dispensary.
Long-term effects of smoking
Smoking has many adverse effects on the body in the long term. The CDC report that smoking:
- reduces sperm count
- increases the risk of pregnancy loss or congenital disabilities
- increases the risk of cataracts
- impairs immune system function
- increases general inflammation
- can cause cancer in nearly any part of the body, including the lungs, kidneys, and stomach
- triggers asthma attacks
- causes blockages in veins and arteries
- increases the risk of stroke
- reduces the overall health of a person, causing issues such as missed work and increased healthcare costs
Long-term effects of vaping
There is a lack of long-term data on the effects of vaping. The goal of e-cigarettes was to be a less harmful method for smokers to obtain nicotine, according to the University of Iowa. However, most evidence indicates that this is not the case. Vaping has these potential side effects:
- damage the lungs
- release free radicals into the body, which promote cancer development
- weaken the immune system
- delay brain development in fetuses, children, and teenagers
Vaping is still under investigation, and future research will almost certainly find additional long-term health impacts that researchers have not yet discovered. Some people have also claimed to have experienced burns as a result of faulty batteries causing explosions when charging e-cigarettes.
Quitting smoking and vaping
Vaping is believed to be a viable method of quitting smoking by some. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not authorized it, according to Harvard Health Publishing. Whether vaping is an effective tool for quitting smoking has yet to be determined.
The American Heart Association (AHA) has a similar message. They claim that the research on this topic is incomplete, and that vaping to quit smoking may result in dual use. When someone vapes and smokes simultaneously, it’s known as dual usage.
The CDC advises that individuals use a licensed method to help them quit smoking. They also strongly advise people to speak with their doctor about quitting either smoking or vaping.
Vaping vs. smoking weed
A vape pen may be used to inhale tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is the chemical in cannabis that gives you a high. According to a 2018 research that looked at adult occasional cannabis smoking, vaping THC resulted in greater mind-altering effects than smoking the same amount of marijuana.
Because of this, anyone who vapes THC may obtain a more rapid and stronger high, but they may also acquire more negative side effects. Both smoking and vaping have similar negative health impacts, such as damage to the lungs and an increased risk of cancer.
The long-term effects of smoking are still largely unknown, but they are more understood than those of vaping. However, because vapes generate enough short-term impacts to make it only marginally superior to smoking, they should not be used as a quit aid. Instead, people can use FDA-approved practices to quit smoking. A person who wants additional assistance in quitting may consult with their doctor.
