Do you cough still when vaping vs when you combusted?

HomeFree

Well-Known Member
Vaping will rarely make me choke and has only done so once in the last year or so.

But sometimes I will hand my vape to a friend and they will cough their lungs out like they just took a bongload.

Did you cough when you first started vaping and cough less when vaping now, or still always cough up a lung, or never got 'coughy' from vaping at all? Do you think it is force of habit, like a learned response? I have taken a few vapor bongloads that made me cough up a lung but that is really rare for me.

The noobs always get small hits when vaping, and almost always start choking. I don't get it. Usually they are heavy weed smokers though.

I know a LOT also depends on strain as well as the vape and size of the hit. But just in general I have noticed people new to vapes cough like mad and they generally take fast drags that create little vapor. And I only have owned a Solo and an Air, which are not gigantic hitter compared to a powerful plug in unit. Though they aren't a slouch either.
 

Derrrpp

For the world is hollow and I have touched the sky
I cough much less with vaping than I did with combusting. With that said however, if I take a giant hit of vapor it is very likely going to make me cough at least a little bit. When vaping at higher temperatures like 390 F or more (Solo setting 5 or above) the higher temperatures/thicker vapor exacerbate any coughing issues... For me at least.
 

uhranium

Well-Known Member
I often coughed when I wanted to finish those 10min old volcano bags which I'd run at level 8/9 and contain a shitload of scratchy particles.

Also when hitting a 210°C mighty on a fresh bowl. Ouch. My lung sounded like a old can for a whole day after that.
 

beeswax

Member
Vaping flower makes me cough just as much as smoking. Concentrates don't make me cough at all unless I take a monster dab. Not sure why it is.
 
beeswax,
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CarolKing

Singer of songs and a vapor connoisseur
Vaping flower makes me cough just as much as smoking. Concentrates don't make me cough at all unless I take a monster dab. Not sure why it is.
If you are coughing each time that you are vaporizing flowers maybe your temp is too high. I very seldom cough while vaporizing unless it's too big a draw. I do cough when trying to use concentrates. I don't use them very often because of that. The concentrates will increase your tolerance if used too often, just a word of caution.
 

AJS

Calm Consistency
Take a fat hit out of an E-Nano and tell me you don't cough. Some people seem to be immune to the physical effects of THC on the lungs, but with a typical person, a big enough vapor rip should make you cough. Lots of concentrated high quality THC actives being pushed straight to them lungs.
 

CarolKing

Singer of songs and a vapor connoisseur
I will cough if I take too big of a draw. I don't enjoy coughing so I try to avoid it. I have a Enano but I don't cough usually. Sometimes you need to get to know your vaporizer and see what temps work best for you. Maybe coughing doesn't bother you and all you care about is a big monster hit - go for it.

I have some cannabis strains that are more harsh than others. AK47 has a very harsh vapor but medicates so well, sometimes I make exceptions. I prefer the smoother tasting cannabis most of the time. PermaFrost is a strain that has a slight cooling effect while drawing. Blue Dream has great smooth tasting vapor. Sometimes I mix that with a harsher strain.
 
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AJS

Calm Consistency
I will cough if I take too big of a draw. I don't enjoy coughing so I try to avoid it. I have a Enano but I don't cough usually. Sometimes you need to get to know your vaporizer and see what temps work best for you. Maybe coughing doesn't bother you and all you care about is a big monster hit - go for it.

I have some cannabis strains that are more harsh than others. AK47 has a very harsh vapor but medicates so well, sometimes I make exceptions. I prefer the smoother tasting cannabis most of the time. PermaFrost is a strain that has a slight cooling effect while drawing. Blue Dream has great smooth tasting vapor. Sometimes I mix that with a harsher strain.
I haven't been able to experiment vaping different strains due to my location (not everything is perfect to name), and the fact I haven't been a full on vape connoisseur until a few months ago. With that being said, I have some average grade at the moment (summer semester, no one around), and because it is of this grade, it's very very easy to vape. I don't prefer it to a high THC strain (not the high, but the physical feeling of it in the lungs). As some would say they like the burn of alcohol in their throats, I like to feel the burn from a nice vapor rip. Not necessarily to the point of coughing, but close.
 

Hashtag46&2

Trichome Technician
Great topic!!

Cannabis has a myriad of Terpenes that posses expectorant qualities (just like Mucinex) but all natural.

So, sometimes, a medium-large rip of vapor can cause a cough, however the cough induced from these Terpenes is much different than a cough induced from a huge bong rip of combusted cannabis.

When I take in a little bit too much vapor, I will have a very short cough, followed by expectoration of residuals.

Edit: The best way I can distinguish a Terpenes induced cough vs Smoke induced cough. ..
Terpenes= Lung expanding, short duration.
Smoke= Lungs feel "pinched" or restricted, longer duration.
 
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beeswax

Member
If you are coughing each time that you are vaporizing flowers maybe your temp is too high. I very seldom cough while vaporizing unless it's too big a draw. I do cough when trying to use concentrates. I don't use them very often because of that. The concentrates will increase your tolerance if used too often, just a word of caution.

I used temps towards the higher range but definitely within normal usage for the vaporizer I used based on these forums. They were the effects I preferred. But I've been off flower completely for like 6 months and my lung function feels day and night.
 
beeswax,

max

Out to lunch
Take a fat hit out of an E-Nano and tell me you don't cough.
Nano, EVO -doesn't matter. I don't cough. People are different and you can't always determine cough or no cough by hit size or vape brand. My wife handles hits much better than she used to, but when she first started vaping she'd cough with nearly every hit, and an unexpectedly large one will still trip her up.

Do you think it is force of habit, like a learned response?
I seriously doubt it. I think coughing up either a vapor or smoke hit is an unpleasant experience. It's something that people would try to avoid. THC is an irritant, and vapor hits, even if cooled and of a manageable size, are foreign to the lungs, so for some, coughing is not unexpected and something they have to learn to control.
 

VapourHaze

Rexcornish on IG, Vaping since '02
Not much comment on lung expansion here. Vapour hits especially at higher temps can be quite dry and give that huge lung expansion feeling. I actually prefer that feeling and quite happily take a huge dry rip on the mighty at 210 .. feels satisfying. However most smokers would choke a lung if they did this as they are not used to the expansion of vapour. If you find vapour is making u cough then try going through warm water.
 

ginolicious

Well-Known Member
I had my first cough yesterday. Been vaping for almost 3 weeks now.

I had my temperature at 188C. Took a nice hull which has been producing clouds eve after the 7th pull. And yeah I started coughing a little bit. They were light coughs. I just guess I took a bigger hit than usual.
 

little maggie

Well-Known Member
I cough with most vaporizers- the underdog is an exception- except when I use water. However I developed an allergy to smoke years ago and quit smoking cigarettes and "herbs". One hit from a regular pipe and I would be coughing and choking for hours. Not worth it at all. With a vaporizer, I cough for a bit and then can take another hit. When I'm done, the coughing stops.
 

Frederick McGuire

Aggressively Loungey
Great topic!!

Cannabis has a myriad of Terpenes that posses expectorant qualities (just like Mucinex) but all natural.

So, sometimes, a medium-large rip of vapor can cause a cough, however the cough induced from these Terpenes is much different than a cough induced from a huge bong rip of combusted cannabis.

When I take in a little bit too much vapor, I will have a very short cough, followed by expectoration of residuals.

Edit: The best way I can distinguish a Terpenes induced cough vs Smoke induced cough. ..
Terpenes= Lung expanding, short duration.
Smoke= Lungs feel "pinched" or restricted, longer duration.

THIS so much...

I still cough a fair bit after most hits, but it's such a different cough than combustion cough...

Vapor cough = I need to cough now, so I'm gonna cough for a while. - Irritating
Combustion cough = OMG my lungs are on fire and I can't breathe properly now. - Painful

:2c:
 

His_Highness

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king
The MFLB, if I use it for a few days in a row, will eventually cause me to cough a little with each hit. The Solo rarely causes me to cough unless I try to rip big. Ironic considering the MFLB rarely shows me any vapor trail while the Solo can get pretty cloudy.

I'm in allergy season so my lungs are in sensitive mode. I can tell my lungs are just looking for a reason to cough. Even during allergy season the Solo rarely causes me to cough. During this part of the season the MFLB will definitely cause a wheezing sound and a cough.

The other night I decided to combust a bong hit for the first time in months ... big mistake ... coughed up a lung and it tasted like ass and the ass taste hung there.
 

JimmyCricket

Well-Known Member
Back in my combustion days i was famous for coughing up a lung, due to my small and sensitive lungs. With vaping I still cough but not nearly as bad as mentioned above. For me it has to do with hit size, dryness, and draw. Take too big of a hit your bound to cough. Vapor without water or your tongue disrupting the vapor path is also much more iritant. As for draw i notice that when i still have room at the end of a hit to suck in some fresh air after, there is less coughing.

Another thing ive noticed is it depends on how the vaporizer applies heat. Units where you have to draw while it heats up seem to cause more coughing (Lotus/MFLB). While ones where the heat is consistently applied like the solo and dabuddha seem easier to avoid coughing. Perhaps conduction vs convection matters too because MFLB hits make me cough like no other. I think people new to vapes cough because they draw too fast and underestimate them ;)..but the lotus through water is heavenly
 

shredder

Well-Known Member
Compared to my old smoking joints routine, I cough a hell of a lot less. Coughing and lung issues led me to vaping.

I have asthma and allergies, so for me I cough, snort and sneeze quite a bit. When I just had my volcano I eventually over time settled on fairly low temps, and got great tasting bags with very little coughing. And the left over abv was still very potent.

Now I have and use the vapes in my sig line. And I tended to ride the mighty up to 410F or iow all the way up. My ssv I used untill the abv was nearly black. And I used my enano until the abv was pretty dark, if not black.

But recently I've backed down on the heat in all my vapes, and i stop vaping a load before its completely void of hits in an effort to treat my lungs better. My last mighty session ended at 380F. My enano and ssv are ending when the herb is lighter than I did before. And like my volcano it's been an evolution taking place over time.

Part of it is just getting used to each vape and figuring out, how i want to use the vape. I'm finding its OK, to stop a little earlier. I do reuse the abv, so I don't think I'm wasting a lot, either way and the lower temp abv is much more potent.

My point is, like @CarolKing, for me keeping the temps down helps a lot. And there are variables that come into play, like using water tools, but in general lower temp vaping helps a lot.
 

Bravesst

Full Steam Ahead
Manufacturer
Since getting my Arizer Air, coughing has become a thing of the past, even if I bump to red... I like sipping, ripping, but always staying under the coughing radar. I was coughing when first switching (Mighty with huge rips), but not because of the product, I was probably doing too much cloud chasing. The Air slows me down, delivers less probably per hit, but tons and tons of hits on next to no weed (.05) that's twenty bowls for one gram (a fat joint).

I'm not saying there isn't an occasional small cough, but usually only at high temps and dry
 
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