Is vaping as good as we think/hope?

[Smoker]

I swapped smoking for vaping 100% and immediately noticed lots of benefits that im very happy with. Its well documented that vaping is much better thank smoking, which im not questioning. The thing is, everyones seen the nasty pictures of smokers lungs after the smoke goes in there and I dont know if im correct to presume this, but I was under the impression that with vaping this doesnt happen and basically your lungs will not get stained/clogged

But if you look at any vaporizer after use there is a build up of gunk and logic says that if the vapour is gunking up the vaporizer, then it must also be gunking up our lungs, and if thats the case, then maybe vaporizing isnt as positive as we, or maybe just I, thought

Does anyone else have any thoughts or information on this?

 

[VAPEHUNTER]

Is it 100% healthy, couldn't say, but I can definitely tell you it's better than smoking.
I remember the nasty resin I used to dig out of my pipes and then I look at the Beautiful golden oil that is left it my E-nano stem and that alone makes me believe that Vaping is better health wise. Also, since I fucked combustion over 2 years ago I no longer cough up little black specs in the morning.

 

[Smoker]

Yeah im with you on the healthier than smoking part, but surely if the vapour gunks our vaporizers, then it stands to reason that it must also be clogging our lungs

 

[Alan Partridge]

Yeah im with you on the healthier than smoking part, but surely if the vapour gunks our vaporizers, then it stands to reason that it must also be clogging our lungs

You can eat the THC resin.

Can you eat the tar from smoking?

What does that tell you?

 

[zor]

That doesn't tell you much in my opinion cuz the effect of the accumulation in the lungs is what I imagine is more hazardous versus the nutritional profile of the gunk. While I don't disagree that the tar is quite toxic and dangerous as a substance, the resin from vaping could easily be significantly damaging to the cilia, capillaries, and alveoli in our lungs simply by coating them.

Our lungs have mechanisms to eliminate particles and clean up, but there's a limit to how well it can do that and I always have wondered what the longer term repercussions may be!

 

[vorrange]

I believe that the hot vapour and the particles are lung irritants, i read that somewhere i can't recall. And the teeth don't do well with the hot air either, i don't know exactly why but the moisture in your mouth is important for proper dental health.

As for the oil collected, i guess it would be a problem for the user if in excess, but like with smoking, proper exercise and breathing exercises that clean and empower the lungs are enough for you to be safe from harm.

 

[hafalump]

If you're woried about vaping just quit. No problem, issue solved, no stems to clean.

 

[CalyxSmokr]

I doubt it is good for you. I can't imagine it is not better than smoking

 

[sativasam]

It may look like tar like from smoking but it is not tar. The "build up of gunk" you talk of is actually resin. People collect this resin and vape it. From what I understand the resin does not harm the lungs and the lungs are able to dispose of it naturally.

There are no long term tests carried out on the the health effects of vaping from my knowledge....but has been shown to be safer in short term studies.

Make sure if possible that your produce is organic as otherwise you will likely be vaporising pesticides.

 

[Hashtag46&2]

Exactly what @sativasam said...

It is much much different than the tar from combustion.

The essential oils are absorbed and dissipate from the body in a natural manner.

I used to be an exclusive dabber.
And it was GreyWolf from Skunkpharm that had done the research, and was kind enough to share his knowledge with me, so I can't recall exactly what the process consists of.

But the topic was always brought up due to the amounts of reclaim plastered against the glass even after a couple dabs.

Lungs are good when Vaping dry herb, in fact various Cannabinoids and Terpenes are Bronchodilators and Expectorants.

Great Thread though, definitely would like to hear others thoughts.

 

[BabyFacedFinster]

It is my understanding that it is much better to vape through a water pipe to reduce the amount of microscopic particulate (plant matter) that you inhale. I don't know if little bits of plant matter in your lungs is a big concern, but I like the idea of filtering them out in water just the same.

Bottom line for me: Everything in some moderation. I see guys on youtube who slam dabs all day, every day and they look like shit. That doesn't mean dabbing is bad if you have some moderation.

 

[WoodyWeedPecker]

But if you look at any vaporizer after use there is a build up of gunk and logic says that if the vapor is gunking up the vaporizer, then it must also be gunking up our lungs,

Good question. IMO, it all comes down to what is in the vapor.

Your premise is wrong. You assume anything that can gunk up a vaporizer is necessarily bad for the body. But that's not the case. We often use cream, massage oil and other stuff which could gunk up any vaporizer but are good for the body. They are absorbed in the body through the skin, goes in the blood and contain beneficial vitamins and molecules.

So it all comes down to what is in the vapor. A subject that has been discussed many times and can be googled. In the vapor, there's beneficial cannabinoids, flavonoids, terpenes and possibly some harmful substances like benzene at low dose which can also be found in the air we breathe and food we eat. Hopefully, the beneficial substances (anti-oxidant, etc) compensate for the possible harmful ones and are in low enough quantity.

 

[ZC]

This is why I wish we had more studies.

But either way, vaping being 100% healthy isn't really a concern for me. I do all sorts of things that aren't 100% healthy. From the food I eat to the hours I stay awake to "fresh" air I breathe walking to work in the city.

The way I see it any possibly unhealthiness from vaping is very minor, and to be honest if I wasn't vaping I would be smoking and that is noticeably and obviously worse for me.

Those tobacco lung pictures I've seen are always of cigarette smokers lungs, not cannabis users.
The only health concerns I take very seriously regarding vaping is the materials of the vapes themselves. I'm confident that herbs themselves won't hurt my lungs and health long term, but I'm less confident about lead or other chemicals that may be present in a manufactured vape. So I research those things before buying a vape and do a proper cleaning and/or offgassing before using them.

 

[HomeFree]

I believe the essential oils from cannabis are absorbed by your lungs unlike tar from smoking.

One thing for sure is with a clean vape you are definitely far better off than from smoking.

For some reason there is not really much in teh way of cannabis smokers getting lung cancer, but tar is not good to inhale at all. Don't do it! Fuck tar!

Ah, looks like sativa sam and hash tag beat me to it.

You may get an expectorant type feeling from it however. That is not a bad thing from what I understand.

 

[rodders83]

I use 1-2mm of water above the perc and i see the very fine dust from avb collect at the bottom and i would not want em in my lungs so even with fine screens i refuse to hit dry vapes.... The glass after the water perc is pristine with just a thc fog on the glass mouthpeice and sides. Perfect, Hardly any cloud reduction because the perc is simply 4 large holes and it just dips in for 1-2mm and straight out.

As for teeth, Heat is bad for the gums i was using an EHLE 100ml with a Herbo and that would make them vibrate or tingle and i had to upsize a little. I still feel something on the gums when i vape hot air for 15m sessions but thats my only worry now.

And if you think it alters the high or makes it less stoney simply change the high by going more Indica or curing better. You have so much control with vaping.

 

[Smoker]

Some interesting reading guys. From reading the replies I can see there are some different thoughts and ideas, none of which I can say are valid or invalid

Although, after thinking a little bit about the matter I am on the side of vaporizing not being quite as good as I previously imagined - although I must admit I did have a pristine pearly white view of it so I guess that wasnt correct from the get go

I also vape tobacco at the moment, so I guess I'll be seeing more gunk than others. I use American Spirit natural tobacco so it isnt quite as bad as the other brands but its still something I plan to taper off

 

[jim-bob]

Yeah, I mean not inhaling random stuff is probably always going to be better for you than inhaling random stuff. At least you're no longer setting things on fire to breathe the fumes in, though!

 

[max]

Does anyone else have any thoughts or information on this?

I have 10 plus years of successful vaping, and it hasn't adversely affected my exercise regime or daily living. Smoking OTOH, was becoming completely intolerable to my lungs at the time I discovered vapor and switched.

I've also read reports from others that lung screens came up clean with vapor use. It's clear to me that our bodies are much better at dealing with vapor, and processing the residue, vs. smoke.

I always say it's best to inhale nothing but fresh, clean air, but unless you live 'off the grid', that's tough to accomplish, and if you're going to inhale active cannabis compounds, better to vaporize than smoke.

 

[biohacker]

My experience mirrors @max.... 10 years vaping exclusively, and zero pulmonary issues, and in fact quite extraordinary lung health, volume, etc.

I think that the actual THC and other cannabinoids have a much greater effect on our bodies, minds, and health than vapour does to our lungs. Furthermore vapour is not vapour.... if you are coughing on hot dry uncomfortable vapour that is not working for you, that is completely different from a smoother more comfortable vapour that feels like you can hold it in forever.

Recently bought the Supreme v3, and this has changed vapour "comfort" for me massively, and I assume health.

 

[zor]

Here are some interesting articles which underline the same idea that we need far more testing and studies before drawing any major conclusions regarding the safety and health impact of vaporizing vs smoking weed. Some initial promising results but much, much more work is needed in the future

Decreased respiratory symptoms in cannabis users who vaporize (2007)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1853086/

Cannabis and tobacco smoke are not equally carcinogenic (2005)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1277837/

No smoke, no fire: What the initial literature suggests regarding vapourized cannabis and respiratory risk (2015)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4456813/


I feel my post was misinterpreted. A key study is missing wherein vaporization of marijuana over time is compared to non-users, to compare lung physiology with use over time versus a control. It's not so much comparing vapor to smoke but rather the impact of vapor on your lungs.

 

[crawdad]

my take on this is the left over oil/resin (parts of the vapor that solidify in some part of the pathway from bowl to brain) is more easily absorbed internally versus tar getting stuck and not absorbed. if its absorbed then there is no buildup for your lungs to deal with.

 

[Smoker]

Smoking OTOH, was becoming completely intolerable to my lungs at the time I discovered vapor and switched.

Same goes for me max, I bought the vaporizers and pretty much gave up and left them unused due to the craving for smoke. After starting to get a rather tight chest I decided it was time to kick the habit

Ive done that now and the difference is significant. Although after seeing the clogged vaporizers I started to question how much better vaping actually is, hence the thread

I'll give those topics a read zor, thanks

 

[StiltedLimboDancer]

I think the answer to this overall question comes down to whether the lungs are capable of absorbing (self-cleaning) liposoluble substances or not.

From my point of view small particles of plant matter, aka dust, shouldn't be much of an issue for the lungs as this is what's flying around in the air all the time. And if we were not capapable of cleaning our lungs from this by coughing, our ancestors would have died by suffocation.

BUT: What are our lungs doing with these sticky liposoluble substances (cannabinoids etc.) from vaping? I guess coughing does only work up to a certain extend.

Maybe there are studies regarding exposures of workpersons to kinds of liposoluble substances...

EDIT:
The answer could be found in the subject of "pharmacokinetics" especially resorption of lipophilic substances in the lungs.

Any med students around?

 

[Sand]

I'm curious whether the vapor has as much of a paralyzing effect on cilia as smoke. I have some doubts that it does.

 

[zor]

There are many, many variables to consider. It's not proper science but just think about how many heavy cig smokers live without any lung issues; I can think of many older family members who are still thriving without any evident damage or lowered quality of life despite decades of smoking cigs. Anecdotes like this help us remember that our bodies are massively complicated systems, we have a very incomplete view of how all these systems interact (but we've learned a ton!), and there are no easy straight forward answers, I just get irked when I hear vaping touted as being healthy, absolutely.