Cannabis vaporizing, also known as “vaping,” has grown in popularity over the last several years, much like e-cigarettes. But what exactly is vaporization, and is it safe? We’ll set the record straight.
Vaping vs Smoking
You’ve come to the correct location if you’re seeking for a more thorough understanding of the fundamental distinctions between vaping and smoking. Let me tell you something: You’ve arrived at the proper spot.
The difference between smoking and vaping marijuana has become increasingly significant in recent years, with new users and connoisseurs divided. Many typical smokers choose to stick with what they’re used to, such as a joint, a bong rip, or a bowl. While many people enjoy the ease of using e-cigarettes because of the lack of odor, there is no agreement on whether or not they smell better than cigarettes.
What’s the difference between smoking and vaping, and which is better for you? Is there a difference between them, and which is superior? What are the benefits and drawbacks of each, as well as whether or not you need to pick one over the other? It’s time to set the record straight on any preconceptions you may have about how vaping and smoking are different in terms of safety, usage, health impacts, euphoria, and even product quality.
Differences Between Smoking & Vaping Marijuana
Despite the fact that there are many high-THC strains and flower varieties available on the market today, smoking dry flower has long been associated with a hit that is comparable to that of combusting marijuana.
Does Vaping Weed Get You Higher?
According to a recent study published by John Hopkins University, vaporizing cannabis produces a greater high than smoking the same amount of flower. This implies that if you’re using a cannabis concentrate, you should be conscious of how much you use, especially if you’ve never done it before.
This study, conducted by researchers at the John Hopkins Behavioral Pharmacology Research Unit in Baltimore and published in the Journal of Men’s Health, included 17 participants and compared cannabis smoking to cannabis vaping. All of the participants had previously smoked marijuana but were instructed not to smoke for 30 days before beginning testing. Cannabis was ingested six times over 8.5 hours during sessions for all participants.
During the test, participants were instructed to use a variety of cannabis products and vary the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (better known as THC) in each, but they were ignorant about how much air they were breathing at any one moment to avoid bias during drug impairment questionnaires.
Participants were asked to smoke throughout the day in order to measure their heart rates, withdraw blood, and check their blood pressure.
Inhaling 25mg of THC, regardless of how it is consumed, resulted in a “full high,” according to the scientists. After not smoking for more than 30 days, many individuals in the study either smoked or “tripped” when they ingested this amount.
Users who smoke or vape this amount of CBD have reported bloodshot, sore eyes, a racing heart rate, anxiety, and an increased appetite. After smoking for the first time, these side effects peaked and dissipated after eight hours.
The most significant finding of our study was that the effects of vaping were much more powerful and significant at each dosage level. According to a publication in 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,” which is consistent with our findings (2017).
According to a research published in the journal Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, cannabis users made twice as many mistakes on all of the cognitive assessments and reported feeling much more depressed when experiencing the negative effects of being way high and paranoid.
Smoking vs Vaping Weed Effects on Lungs
Many of us have observed that when you smoke a bowl of green flower, you cough up your lungs and produce copious amounts of phlegm. The cloud is more harsh than that produced by a cannabis oil cartridge vape pen hit.
The reason may be numerous. The first and most obvious cause is that when you smoke marijuana flowers, you’re actually burning the plant. Vaping is not comparable to smoking cannabis flowers in any way.
Want to know more about the difference between smoking and vaping on your lungs? This film compares cigarette smoke with a nicotine vaporizer, although there is currently no data on the effect of cannabis vaporizers.
However, we are confident you will make the distinction between smoking cannabis that has been smoked and vaporizing it.
Vaping Safety Facts & Tips
In 2019, we learnt a lot about how vaping affects our health and lungs. Vaping sicknesses were sweeping through many demographics throughout the United States left and right. It had gotten so bad that the Center of Disease Control (CDC) issued a warning to the general public advising them to cease using e-cigarettes until they found out what was causing the problem. We’ve put up a list of frequently asked questions regarding vaping below based on current data. E-cigarettes are still considered a lesser health risk than smoking, according To the information currently available.
However, the long answer is that additional evidence is required because e-cigarettes are a relatively new trend in society. The first vapes didn’t appear on the market until 2003, however they quickly became fashionable throughout the mid-2010s.
With the increased use of these technologies, many black-market THC vapes emerged, plunging the market into chaos. Continue reading to find out more about these illicit vape devices.
Effects of Vaping on Lungs
There’s enough evidence to show that smoking flowers contaminated with germs, spores, and mildew can harm smokings with compromised immune systems. However, because vape cartridges are produced through a complex extraction technique that just produces pure cannabis oil as a result, it is impossible.
Using a vaporizer, on the other hand, comes with risks. Vaping cannabis isn’t as safe as smoking it because there are numerous things that can influence your experience even if you use top quality equipment. Vaping, on the other hand, cannot be considered a healthy way to consume cannabis… Yes, you have a good probability of becoming intoxicated to the point of unconsciousness, but most or all of the vaping illnesses identified were attributed to unclean, black market, or unclean vaporizer cartridges that mixed pure oil with propylene glycol and vitamin E acetate. When burned, vitamin E acetate has been shown to have severe detrimental effects on your lungs.
Harmful Negative Effects of Vaping
The CDC has dubbed this new respiratory condition EVALI, which stands for “electronic vaping or e-cigarette product use-induced lung injury.” The CDC has received reports of 2,602 hospitalizations and 57 fatalities associated with this illness from all 50 states and territories in the United States and Canada as of January 9, 2020.
According to several studies, vaping can damage blood vessels, induce lung scarring and inflammation, as well as fluid accumulation in the lungs. The majority of these incidents were reported by teenagers who said they had recently smoked THC vape cartridges purchased from a store rather than THC vape cartridges produced at a marijuana dispensary.
Long-term effects of smoking
In the long run, smoking has several negative consequences on the body. According to the CDC, smoking causes the following health problems:
- 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, according to the University of Iowa, was for them to be less harmful alternatives for smokers looking for nicotine. However, most evidence indicates otherwise. Vaping has these sorts of possible negative 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 currently a matter of research, and future studies will almost certainly discover additional long-term health consequences. Some people have claimed to have been burned as a result of exploding batteries in e-cigarettes that resulted in burns.
Quitting smoking and vaping
According to Harvard Health Publishing, some people believe that vaping is a viable option for quitting smoking. According to Harvard Health Publishing, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not authorized it. Whether or not e-cigarettes are an effective method of quitting smoking has yet to be determined.
The American Heart Association (AHA) has a similar stance. They claim that the study on this issue is preliminary, and that vaping to quit smoking might lead to dual usage. Dual usage occurs when someone vapes and smokes at the same time.
It is illegal to sell, give away, or trade e-cigarettes to people under the age of 21 in Maine. The CDC recommends that individuals utilize a medical technique to aid them in stopping smoking. People are also advised to talk with their doctor about quitting either cigarettes or vaping.
Vaping vs. smoking weed
Vaping THC is possible with a vape pen. THC is the chemical in cannabis that makes you high. According to a 2018 study that compared adult regular cannabis smoking with vaping THC, vapes resulted in greater mind-altering effects than smoking the same amount of marijuana.
THC is very volatile. As a result, anyone who uses THC may get a faster and more powerful high, as well as greater negative effects. Both smoking and vaporizing have comparable harmful health consequences, such as lung damage and an increased risk of cancer.
The long-term consequences of smoking are still largely unknown, although they are more understood than those of e-cigarettes. Vapes, on the other hand, should not be used as a quit aid since they produce just enough short-term effects to make them marginally beneficial when compared to smoking. Americans can use FDA-approved methods to stop smoking instead. A smoker who wants more help quitting may visit with their doctor.