Do vape pens lower the risk of bronchitis?

Vaping has become the latest trend to replace smoking. Vapers inhale through a device that heats and releases essential plant oils as vapor. Some use plant matter, others use extracts.

Unlike traditional cigarettes / joints, one does not burn the tobacco / cannabis or inhale its smoke. That eliminates nearly all the toxins associated with smoke — carbon monoxide, CO2, ash, tar, particulate, etc. What does that mean in terms of bronchial risks?

Vaping concentrates through an oil cartridge typically uses an electronic device known as a vape pen or vape mod with heating coil and a viscous fluid containing tobacco, cannabis and assorted flavors. There are a number of recommended steps for vapers to take to be sure they really are safe when using vape pens.

What is ‘Popcorn Lung?‘

It is not the cannabinoids or even the nicotine that can damage lungs, although nicotine presents its own problems. Despite the benefits of CBD, vapers face at least some risks, such as the recent spate of lung diseases caused by excess vitamin E oil or contaminants sometimes found in illicit vape pens. But does vaping CBD lead to so-called popcorn lung?

The term popcorn lung originated from a condition discovered in a person known as Jasper, who worked in a popcorn factory in Missouri. The worker experienced symptoms such as shortness of breath and cough, which is similar to another lung condition known as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

The scientific name for the condition is bronchitis obliterans, although the term popcorn lung has rooted itself among most people.

Lung cancer results from the exposure of lungs to harmful chemicals, especially if one is working in a place with a lot of chemical exposure. The original chemical that caused the condition is diacetyl, but there are other industrial chemicals associated with the condition. Some of these chemicals include:

• Metal oxide
• Nitrous oxide
• Industrial air pollutant
• Industrial cleaning products

Note that popcorn is entirely different from lung cancer, and one should not confuse with it. Now that you have enough background on popcorn lung let’s proceed into acknowledging its association with CBD vaping.

Vape pens, diacetyl and Popcorn Lung

With a clear understanding of the causes of popcorn lung, it is easier to decide whether CBD vaping can lead to the disease. Therefore, the bone of contention is to understand whether CBD contains any traces of the causative agent of Popcorn lung.

Based on a Harvard research done in 2016, there were traces of diacetyl in most of the flavors used in vaping. However, the samples considered eight different brands, which brought a lot of controversy over the viability of the results. Even so, a few of the products got banned, though there was no clear verification over the viability of the results found.

Note, consuming diacetyl is not harmful — it is common in household products such as margarine since it brings a buttery flavor. However, it may be riskier when inhaled.

Even though diacetyl has been a popular product in vaping products, there have never been reports associating popcorn lung with the compound. However, it is hard to entirely assume that vaping is safe since there is not enough research done over this issue.

For consumers who might still have concerns over the safety of CBD e-liquids, the best thing is to use concentrated CBD, which cuts diacetyl agents and carriers such as propylene glycol (PG) and vegetable glycerin (VG). Using concentrated CBD eliminates the worry of popcorn lung and also offers an excellent vaping experience as well.

Alternatively, you can opt to maintain traditional smoking and use quality kush such as death bubba, which will give you the level of experience you expect to get from vaping. 

Vape safely without risking Popcorn Lung

Thankfully, vaping enthusiasts who prefer to use CBD should not worry about the direct association of lung cancer and the flavor of their choice. However, it does not mean that they should be ignorant of the safety measures needed to avoid diacetyl in the CBD that they take. Here are a couple of safety measures that will keep you as safe as possible:

• Ensure that there is no diacetyl in the flavor

At this point, you probably know that taking pure CBD can save you from the exposure of diacetyl. Taking concentrated CBD can be an ideal choice to avoid exposing yourself to the compound. Thankfully, vape product manufacturers are sensitive to the compound and have adopted safer compounds such as terpenes, which are safe for usage.

• Choose a Medium-Chain Triglycerides ( MCT ) oil base

CBD cannot exist as oil that one can use in a vape. Therefore, there must be a base oil to make it suitable for usage. This is the first thing that you should check when considering “which CBD Vape Kit Should I Buy?”

The universal oil bases used in most CBD e-liquids are propylene glycol, Polyethylene glycol, and vegetable glycerin. However, to remain safe with your CBD oils, you should consider taking CBD with MCT oils such as kernel oil, palm oil, and coconut oil, which are quite safe. Therefore, before you choose your next MCT for your vape cartridge, check whether it has either of these oils.

• Maintain a vaping temperature below 200 degrees Celsius

Burning vape products at around 200 degrees Celsius is risky and usually, alter the composition of chemicals found in polyethylene glycol. However, with the new manufacturer invention, which maintains the temperatures at 180 degrees Celsius, there are few chances of experiencing the harmful effects of over burning the vape products. 

Maintaining the temperatures at 180 degrees is quite ideal for burning CBD and would not irritate your throat as per the experience of burning the product past such temperature. Modern vapes have included variable voltage vaporizers, which allow users to change the temperature by themselves by dialing it to the limits that suit them.

So, Is Vaping Entirely Safe?

The initial objective of inventing vaporizers is to help people deal with smoking habits and reduce harms from smoke. In one way or another, vaping has realized this goal, particularly as regards cannabis. However, some of the adverse effects associated with vaping tobacco products include:

• Addiction to nicotine.
• Possibility of starting cigarette smoking.
• The explosion of defective vaporizer batteries.
• Acute nicotine poisoning to both children and adults when exposed to the e-liquid.
• Effect on the fetus for pregnant women who vape.

Conclusion

It is hard to say whether it is 100% safe to conclude that vaping CBD cannot lead to Popcorn lung. However, by considering the precautions stated above, you will reduce the risk of popcorn lung to a great extent. If you choose to smoke instead of vape, make sure you use high-standard strains like the ones available on ILGM  and achieve the sort of experience that vaping can offer.