People have been smoking weed for a very long time, so that means it must be perfectly okay right? That was what many people thought until something better came along, and that something was vaping. But is vaping weed really better than smoking it, or is it all hype? Since this is a vaping website, you know what we think, but in this article, you’ll learn about opinions from unbiased people who don’t have a dog in this fight. So, if you want to get the facts about vaping vs smoking, keep reading.
Health Concerns
By now we all know about the various health problems related to smoking cigarettes. Lung cancer is the big one of course, but smoking can harm your lungs and respiratory system in other, irreversible ways. While smoking weed isn’t as harmful as smoking cigarettes, many of the problems associated with cigarette smoking are also there with weed smoking. Namely, smoking weed can cause respiratory and pulmonary problems because weed smoke contains toxins, irritants, and carcinogens that are detrimental to lung health.
The way that people tend to smoke weed also has a negative impact on their lung health. They tend to inhale the smoke deeply and hold their breath so that the THC gets the chance to circulate throughout their system. That’s bad because smoking weed can cause damage to the cell linings of large airways like the trachea and bronchi. That can lead to problems like coughing, wheezing, increased phlegm production, and bronchitis.
Smoking weed can also affect other internal systems too. The immune system is also negatively affected by smoking weed. Marijuana smoke causes damage to the cells that help with the removal of dust and germs. A suppressed immune system and damage to the cells is a dangerous combination that can lead to infections of the lower respiratory tract. That mainly happens to chronic weed smokers, but even casual smokers can be affected.
So how is vaping better? Well, vaping doesn’t produce any smoke because there is no combustion. No smoke means no toxins, which means less cell damage, which means a lower chance of lung and airway problems, all of which means less susceptibility to lung infections. When you look at all the evidence, it becomes pretty clear that smoking weed is more harmful to your health than vaping it.
Convenience
When it comes to convenience, a vaporizer beats a joint all the time, let’s break it down.
Preparation
With a vaporizer, you need to grind up your herb, place it in the vaporizer, and you’re good to go. Granted, you need to worry about keeping the vape charged, but that’s it. With a joint, not only is there more prep involved what with having to roll it up, but you need a lighter as well. Meanwhile, the vaporizer is all you need, no secondary accessories necessary.
Related: Types of Dry Herb Vaporizers
Advantage of Vaporizers
Discretion
Vaporizers are far more discreet and unobtrusive than joints are. Even though a vaporizer is far bigger than a joint, there is nothing about a vape that will make people assume that you’re using marijuana right in front of them. On the other hand, pretty much everybody knows what a joint looks like. A vaporizer won’t give you away after you’ve finished using it either because the weed smell that it generates doesn’t linger on clothes or hair. By contrast, anyone who smokes a joint will need a good scrub down for themselves and their clothes if they don’t want the smell to give them away.
Post Session Usage
Once a joint has been smoked, all you can do is toss it away. However, after weed has been vaporized, you can recycle it to make all sorts of weed-infused recipes if you desire.
The Higher High
Now we’re getting to the good stuff, which method gives you a bigger and better high? There’s no need for suspense here, it’s vaping. That is because when weed gets burned some of the terpenes and THC literally go up in smoke. Vaping retains up to 95% of the THC in the marijuana plant which means that the high comes on faster, lasts longer, and is much stronger. In studies conducted to examine the effects of vaping weed and smoking it, those who vaped weed had higher concentrations of THC in their system. So, if you want the highest high, you want a dry herb vaporizer.
Efficiency
As the previous paragraph indicates, vaping weed causes very little of the THC and terpenes to go to waste. Not only that, but you don’t need a lot of weed to get to that high. Weed needs to be ground down before it can be used in a vaporizer, which increases the surface area. That means you can do a lot with a relatively small amount of weed. To put this into perspective, a typical joint uses about one gram of weed, a typical vaporizer uses slightly less than that but can last for four to six sessions.
Related: How to get more vapor on your weed vape?, When to replace herb in vaporizer oven?
Final Thoughts
In the case of vaping vs smoking, there is only one clear winner. And it’s definitely not smoking. Vaping is more convenient, more cost-effective, less harmful to your health, and best of all, it gives you a stronger and more long-lasting high. Smoking can’t really compare. The best thing you can say about smoking is that it’s more low maintenance than vaping since you don’t need to clean anything up afterward. But considering all the other advantages that vaping has, smoking can’t really compare.