Reason I feel vaping can effect lungs just as much as smoking

[Nosferatu]

Let me explain my recent situation which left me thinking. I have smoked cannabis for about 2 years, then discovered vaping about 3 years ago and have primarily vaped with one 7 month period of exclusive vaping ending a year ago.

I use an Evo with a mobius matrix clear. I am in the marijuana industry and so have access to the some of the most high quality of flowers in the world, and I am not exagerating. I have owned over 15 vaporizers and have used them in all sorts of manners with no water, cool water, warm water, you name it. My conundrum is I have exclusively vape through the setup I mentioned for the last several months. I feel the hits it provides are intoxicating and debilitating and can set you on your ass.(in a good way ) A big hit at any temp will leave my lungs pounding.

So when my vape had to be sent in I took my first bong load of high quality out of the same piece that matrix, and I couldn't even feel it, didn't hurt or sting like I expected, and I take humongous snaps more than a whole vape bowl.

After a while of smoking now I have realized big visible vape hits seem to "impair" my lungs just as much as big bong loads. Wether it is paralyzing the cylia or coating the lungs in condensed vapor, this method of ingestion has proven over the last 3 years of testing that vaporizing at least in its current form most certainly damages my lungs in the same way smoking does, if not worse. That is my personal experience if I had to explain it honestly to a nuetral party.

Smoking still creates more tar and carcinogens (visibly so) so I imagine it's much worse for lung health long term. But what I am getting at is that I feel with the same water pipe it's volume inhaled(smoke or vapor) that hurts the lungs more so than method to heat the bowl(vaporizer or lighter).

Now I am not incling efficiency and potency/flavor, clearly a win for vapes. Am I high?

 

[HerbalHealing]

Not very sure, but I do know that I don't cough as much when vaping vs combusting. In fact, I never cough when vaping, but smoking always triggers a bit of a cough during/after fwiw. Affect on lungs may 'feel' heavy but research says it's not as damaging due to the lack of carcinogens and high heat.

 

[deadheadbill]

Yeah, you're high dude. Vaping is easier on the lungs.

 

[Jeppy]

When i smoked, i always had lung problems. Since vaping my lungs have remained crystal clear. For years.

 

[Newcastle]

I no longer cough up black crap. So ya I think vaping is better.

 

[sanfranciscosadhu]

This is an interesting and thoughtful question actually and one that I ponder myself..
I do think smoking is more harmful then vaping for sure, just look at an empty bowl and how easy it is to clean compared to the crud from a pipe for example. Also the temperatures are definetely lower then combustion and cause less immediate irritation.

That said, as Nosferatu states, the way we vape may pose certain risks too and frankly only time will tell.
I know that for instance with the Firefly I can produce tiny flavor hits with almost no visible vapor that can make me very high. Yet I, like so many on this forum, love big vapor clouds. So now iI am primarily using the Crafty and iI'm delighted and amazed at the enormous clouds this thing can produce. Is that good for me and my lungs long term is another question all together.

I know I'm not alone in this. Just scan this forum and look at almost any video posted, no matter what the vaporizer is: the bigger the clouds the better! We love these clouds, myself surely included. I do notice though that after a heavy evening session like that, my lungs feel a bit "tired " the next morning.
I think it's a question worth asking high or not...

 

[Pricey420]

I just look at my solo stems and how clean they are after vaping and think how dirty they would go if i used it as a one hitter just once. But then again i still smoke sometimes about 15% of the time but the majority of the time i vape purely for the health factor and it is easier on the stash haha

 

[Stinky]

I get problems with heartburn from using the Volcano. I use ant-acids for relief of the symptoms. Sometimes it can be quite bad so I'll lay off the Volcano for a while.

I wasn't having any of these issues with the Mighty surprisingly but then again I only used the Mighty for a short period of time.

 

[CarolKing]

When I smoked joints and little pipes I had some lung issues. I would get winded more easily. When I would get a cold it would get really bad. I would also catch colds more often. I too occasionally would cough up black stuff. I was starting to get a little smokers cough in the mornings. I knew was a bad sign since my dad died of emphysema when he was 76. He had coughed every morning hard for 30 years +.

I cringed when I would clean my little pipe. The gunk in the bottom I was imagining in my lungs. I am such an advocate for vaping now. I spread the word wherever I can. I definitely feel better. I can smell things better. I also feel more clear. It's a cleaner high.

For those that have compromised immune systems due to illness vaporizing the meds is much more healthy.

I have arthritis throughout my body and cannabis helps with the pain and inflammation. I can't even think of smoking again.

 

[Stinky]

For those that have compromised immune systems due to illness vaporizing the meds is much more healthy.

That's even what some Doctors are saying now. Advocating vapourisation over edible cannabis due to the route of administration and efficacy.

 

[Chill Dude]

I vape everyday and I'm a competitive runner. In fact, I consistently finish in the top 5% of my age group in the half marathon. My lungs are as strong as ever and have not experienced any negative effects from vapeing!

Btw, I'm not a sipper either. Due to my enormous lung capacity I blow huge fucking clouds.

Use a quality vape with safe materials and vape on! No worries here!!

 

[lwien]

That's even what some Doctors are saying now. Advocating vapourisation over edible cannabis due to the route of administration and efficacy.

Really? This is the first I've heard of this. Can you post up a link or two of doctors advocating this? Would really appreciate it.

....I consistently finish in the top 5% of my age group in the half marathon.

Gratz. What age group, if I may ask?

 

[Chill Dude]

Really? This is the first I've heard of this. Can you post up a link or two of doctors advocating this? Would really appreciate it.



Gratz. What age group, if I may ask?

I'm 50, so the 50 To 54 age group. My last half marathon I ran a 1:38 which equates to around a 7:30 per mile pace. Not too bad for an old man hahaha. My next goal is to break 1:35 in my next half marathon in March. To prepare I will train hard and vape hard!

 

[lwien]

^^ ......

 

[Stinky]

Really? This is the first I've heard of this. Can you post up a link or two of doctors advocating this? Would really appreciate it.

I attended Entheogenesis Australis last week where Dr Alex Wodak did a presentation on the current state of medical cannabis in Australia. Here is his Bio:

http://www.entheogenesis.org/lecture/dr_alex_wodak_am

Here's is a list of other speakers from the symposium:

http://www.entheogenesis.org/speakers

The presentation will be put up on their Youtube page as soon as they have edited it:

http://m.youtube.com/user/entheotv

 

[lwien]

Thanks a bunch, Stinky. Much appreciated.

 

[Stinky]

Thanks a bunch, Stinky. Much appreciated.

No worries at all. I wish the presentations were up as I want to show them to my partner. She has being hearing me quote and regurgitate them for the last week.

 

[fubar]

After a while of smoking now I have realized big visible vape hits seem to "impair" my lungs just as much as big bong loads.

IMHO: it's all a question of minimising your exposure to risks while getting the good stuff out of your herb and into your head.

Vaping probably won't turn out to be completley harmless - nothing that's so much fun ever is - but my guess is that it will certainly turn out to be less harmful because the health problems related to smoking mostly arise in the chemistry of combustion which you completely avoid with a decent temperature controlled vaporiser. Burning cellulose and plant sugars oxidise into polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) which are a large family of proven, nasty carcinogens. Not sure what impairment you feel from vaping , but even sucking in a lung full of carcinogenic PAH won't likely result in any immediately noticable impairment - just one more ticket in the squamous cell carcinoma raffle. Most lung cancers present late because they don't produce noticable symptoms until they bleed or block a bronchus. The other main smoking related pathology is accelerated loss of elastic tissue supporting the airways = emphysema. Again, patients don't usually notice any "impairment" for the first 20 years or so even though pulmonary function tests will show gross changes - there's a lot of redundancy in the lungs....

Assuming you're not actually combusting which is easy to do with some devices like the MFLB, THC itself is classed as an expectorant - it gives a gee up to the cilia lining your airways and it definitely can make some people cough a lot in my experience. One solution is to mix some fresh air with the vapour to dilute it by allowing a bit of air to leak around the stem (loosen the lips until you can hear a hissing) as you inhale - or lower the temperature if your device allows it.

I haven't seen any trustworthy evidence of cancer risk or long term pulmonary impairment from vaporising but then again it's only been popular for a decade or so and funding bodies don't seem keen to support research on the subject. However, inhaling burning cellulose is definitely really, really bad for the lungs - but the harm takes time to appear. Inhaling PAH's won't cause any immediately noticable changes - but 20-30 years on, the slow process of carcinogenesis gradually reaches it's ugly mature phase. Vaping seems unlikely to increase cancer risk - in fact, there some evidence that THC slows down some cancers in rodents...so even if you cough after vaping, it's probably a lot less harmful long term than inhaling all the PAH from burning the same sized load. Oh, and probably more efficient in my experience - I think I'd pass out if I vaped a whole joint's worth of herb at one sitting - a gram is about 5 very convincing doses in my Solo.

 

[little maggie]

I've been wondering what I'm doing wrong but maybe the problem for me is vaping. I stopped smoking anything years ago because I developed a bad cough when smoking. I just started vaping over the past few months with a MFLB and now a Solo. I had a positive change in some of my labs that I didn't expect to be impacted. But I'm beginning to develop asthma from vaping which concerns me. I'm not sure what the solution is- I hope I don't have to give up the positive effects to protect my lungs.

 

[Jurkone]

I have to say that i realy feel the differnece between smoking and vaping, because vaping doesn't charge my lungos so much, it opens my air paths and keep my lungs ok.

What i think is that maybe you are using so much hig temps, and low hydration, and the hot vapor is causing you this sympthoms.

¿How many times a day do you vape? ¿on what temp?

Thankyou!

 

[little maggie]

I have to say that i realy feel the differnece between smoking and vaping, because vaping doesn't charge my lungos so much, it opens my air paths and keep my lungs ok.

What i think is that maybe you are using so much hig temps, and low hydration, and the hot vapor is causing you this sympthoms.

¿How many times a day do you vape? ¿on what temp?

Thankyou!

I keep temperatures low- 3 on the Solo and vape 1 or less times a day. Not sure about hydration. Maybe water would help? I've read some people "sip". Not sure what that is or whether that would make a difference.

 

[Nosferatu]

Thanks for the input everyone! I think I have just smoked so much herb and unfiltered tobacco in my life that when I vape the expectorant effect I am getting I had confused for damaging my lungs, but really it is cleaning them? I'm not sure but my experience is similar to Maggie's that when I tend to vape exclusively I get almost Asthma like symptoms after a month or so, reading all these positive testaments though I am going to blame it on my lung health rather than vaping.

 

[little maggie]

Wish that was true for me. Unfortunately, after I vape for a few days I get a definite wheeze sound in my lungs. Apparently that's not a symptom of asthma but it's a concern. I'm going to get one of Ed's stems and see if that helps.

 

[elvenflow]

My life expectancy is about eight years, so I don't worry about it much.

 

[RUDE BOY]

My life expectancy is about eight years, so I don't worry about it much.

Don't buy into a prognosis that give you a limited lifespan, things change. I was basically told I would never see 1984 back in '82, later in the 90s I was sent to hospice care more than once.

Never ever thought I would see the 21st century but here I be.

Keep up the good fight my Friend !!! Stay Strong !!!