Enjoying a nice smoke is one of life’s great pure pleasures, but you don’t have to be a scientist or a doctor to know that every smoking hobby has its drawbacks. Cigarettes and other tobacco products are the worst for you, but there are reasons to be concerned about the effects of long-term smoking even if your smoke of choice is something other than tobacco. This isn’t necessarily a reason to give up smoking entirely, but it is a reason to think twice about the ways in which you smoke.
If you’re smoking joints and cigarettes that you roll yourself, you may already be avoiding some of the bad stuff that you’ll find in factory-produced cigarettes and other big-business tobacco products. But you’re still breathing in smoke, including smoke from the paper. That’s not necessarily the healthiest option, as paper is one of the things that make cigarettes unhealthy, not the nicotine! Here are a few alternatives for smokers who want to go a little easier on their throats and lungs.
Ditch the paper and go with glass
When you smoke a joint, blunt, or cigarette that has been rolled in paper or a wrap, you’re not just getting the smoke from the substance. You’re also dealing with the smoke from the paper mentioned earlier. But there’s an easy way to make sure that you’re only smoking the filling, and that’s by ditching the paper entirely.
There are plenty of glass products that make great alternatives to traditional rolling papers and other flammable forms of smoking vessels. You can choose from bongs, bubblers, bowls, and pipes, including old-fashioned pipes that are made of materials other than glass.
Of course, fans of blunts and joints may prefer the way it feels to smoke these things instead of using a bong. But there are small glass smoking products available that emulate the form of a joint or a blunt. Glass blunts are good examples of ways to get the blunt vibe without all of that blunt-roll smoke.
Vape instead of smoking
Using glass instead of paper is a healthier way to smoke. But, depending on what you smoke, you may find that you don’t have to smoke at all. Fans of tobacco and marijuana will find that their favorite smokes are available in vape form.
When you vape, you’re not inhaling smoke at all. Vaporizers heat up your smokeable until the active ingredients are quite literally vaporized. Like water vapor, these vapors aren’t smoke, they’re a suspension of tiny particles in the air. The substance behaves more or less like a gas, and it’s not nearly as harsh on your throat and lungs as regular old smoke tends to be. Vaping is generally considered to be healthier than smoking by experts.
Consider edibles instead of smoking
Edibles are another way to enjoy the effects of smokable products without having to actually smoke.
Marijuana edibles are available in the same places that legal marijuana is available (that means select states, of course, and you should never transport marijuana across state lines — many states still ban marijuana, and moving it across state lines is a federal offense even when both of the states in question have legalized the drug). For fans of marijuana, edibles offer convenient dosing of THC in forms like gummies, cookies, and candies. Another cannabinoid, CBD, is available in edible forms, too. CBD is non-psychoactive, which means it doesn’t get its users high, and is more widely legal than THC.
Being smart about your hobby
Smoking isn’t exactly good for you, but the consumption of certain smokeable products can absolutely be a part of a broader healthy lifestyle. You don’t need to give up your hobby, but you should be smart about how you consume your smokeable products. By cutting out paper or choosing an option other than smoking, you could keep enjoying your passion while also maintaining a healthier life!