What Is Vaping?

Vaping has become the fastest growing trend in modern day cannabis use. Vaping, or vaporization, is a method of activating the raw ingredients in cannabis, tobacco or oils without combustion. In other words, you get your nicotine or cannabinoid intake without fire.  Instead, vaporizers heat the substance to a sub-combustion level, releasing the ingredients as a vapor or an aerosol, rather than smoke.

While many vape-users insert flower into their vape pens, oil cartridges or concentrate vaping rigs also exist. When deciding whether to vape herbs or oil, personal preference is the big deciding factor. Oil-based vape pens are portable, more cost-effective and more widely available on the market. Herb-based vaporizers, however, are said to taste better.

Vaporizers also differ based on whether they use conduction or convection methods. In a conduction vaporizer, vapor is released because of the low heat from the internal heating element. They are also generally cheaper and require less maintenance. Convection vaporizers operate by pushing hot air from the heating element through the product, which releases vapor without making direct contact. While convection vaporizers are pricier, they are said to be more effective in releasing cannabinoids.

One of the biggest advantages to vaping is the health benefits it offers compared to having smoke enter your lungs by using a bong, pipe joint or blunt. Studies have shown that vaporizing does produce less carcinogenic compounds than smoking does, since it is heating rather than combusting the cannabis.

Despite weed smoke being far less toxic than cigarette smoke, as a combustion product, it still contains gasses and particulates that will cause lung irritation and respiratory problems for the user. Indeed, when cannabis is burned over 100 toxins and compounds are emitted. For many, this leads to unfortunate health side effects like bronchitis and respiratory infections. According to current studies, these effects are far less common among vape-users. Vaping also generates less carbon monoxide than smoking. In a study of eighteen test subjects, each of them smoked or vaped THC at three different levels of strength and the carbon monoxide content of the air they exhaled was tested. The results proved that less carbon monoxide was released in vaporizing.

To many users, the main advantage to vaping is that it is currently among the most discreet ways to consume cannabis. As a substance with a tenuous legal status, many users are uncomfortable walking down the street with a lit joint hanging from their mouth. Vaping offers a much better solution as legal authorities or strict parents are unable to differentiate their activity from tobacco use.

The medical community has been quick to sing the praises of vaping as well. Major institutions like Public Health England and The Royal College of Physicians have stated that the dangers of vaping are likely very low. In fact, the Royal College says vaping is “unlikely to exceed five percent of the harm from smoking tobacco.” With more and more vape stores emerging globally, it appears the trend is here to stay.