Vaporizers and Health

Long has the argument been that marijuana smoke and smoke from other plant-based drugs is comparably harmful to the smoker's lungs as tobacco smoke. However, there are certain devices on the market that can theoretically reduce the amount of harmful substances inhaled into the lungs while using marijuana and other substances that are absorbed through the lungs. Vaporizers are one of the most popular means to achieve these results.

Vaporizers come in many forms, but all work on the same basic principle. This principle is that the vaporizer produces vapor containing the active drug ingredients wished to be absorbed, whereas other devices produce smoke which is then inhaled. Smoke is produced when temperatures that are significantly higher than that needed to release desired compounds is applied to the substance in question such as marijuana buds. Through the process of incomplete combustion, several undesired byproducts are released into the vapor as well, such as carbon deposits and tars. Excess carbon that is released in the form of particulates, carbon dioxide, and carbon dioxide are natural products formed when something is burned with a standard flame from a match or a lighter. The same thing happens if one burns logs in a fireplace. The problem is that many of these byproducts are toxic to the lungs if inhaled in sufficient quantities and produce general undesirable effects such as coughing and respiratory irritation.

Is there a solution to bypass the release of these unwanted byproducts? There is, and the answer is in vaporizers. Vaporizers employ different mechanisms to heat a small amount of solid matter such as marijuana or salvia to the point at which the desired chemicals such as THC or salvinorum A are released from the solid material. These temperatures are quite a bit lower than temperatures achieved with a lighter or match flame. Furthermore, the vaporizer temperature is low enough to prevent the solid matter from combusting and producing smoke. Instead, what is created is a thin mist or vapor that rises up from the solid material and is stored in a small glass or plastic reservoir. The smoker can then inhale the vapor into his or her lungs via a mouthpiece attached to this reservoir.

The benefits of vaporizers are many, although more scientific studies must be conducted to further support the claim that vaporizers eliminate many harmful chemicals entering the lungs. First and foremost, vaporizers reduce respiratory irritation, drying of the mucous membranes, or coughing simply because there is not hot smoke accompanying the active vapor. In terms of what is released in the vapor due to the heating action, a study made by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) revealed that the ratio of cannabinoids to tars released in the vapor was still such that there is much room for improvement on vaporizers. Furthermore, the same study revealed that at the temperatures at which vaporizers operate, less of the cannabinoids responsible for the characteristic marijuana high were released than through other devices such as pipes or joints. Since this is one of the few studies made concerning vaporizers and marijuana, and one that focused exclusively on marijuana, it is unclear how well vaporizers function with other substances such as salvia.

Although vaporizers are not perfect and many current models do not live up to their claims of producing a lung-healthy way of taking in certain drugs, the idea shows much promise. As vaporizers become more studied and perfected, then they have the potential to lessen many of the respiratory health risks that are allegedly posed by smoking plant matter. In the meantime, they provide a relatively inexpensive way to take drugs for either medicinal or recreational purposes without the respiratory irritation or coughing associated with smoking with flame.