How does Vaping Cannabis Affect The Aging Process?
Remember when you wished you looked older so you could buy alcohol and/or cigarettes yourself? You know, those good old days of not having to earn a living, no bills and… soft, supple skin. We definitely aren’t a bunch of moisturizing metrosexuals at boredstoners.com but we try to learn everything we can about vaping marijuana and its side effects.
Because premature aging has been proven to be so closely associated with smoking, many marijuana vapers find themselves wondering if they will suffer the same consequences. A lot of young vapers (both male and female) ask us about the aging effects of vaping marijuana and here is our look into the possible ways in which vaping marijuana can age you.
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Physical appearance
You do not have to be a model for your physical appearance to matter. So, is your vaping habit having a negative impact on your looks?
Smoker’s Lips
Perhaps one of the most obvious giveaways of a longtime smoker is “smoker’s lips” where vertical fine lines and wrinkles appear above and below the lips. They are caused by the crumpling of skin that happens when you pucker your lips to take a draw.
What you are putting in your mouth – a tobacco cigarette, a blunt, an e-cig or a vaporizer – does not matter. The more often you suck in a hit, the faster the fine lines will appear and then turn into distinct wrinkles. While vaping weed will contribute to these lines, most users find that they take fewer draws of a vape than they do of a joint for the same high.
How To Beat It
Drawing from the corner of your mouth instead of the middle virtually eliminates the puckering effect on your lips. However, this method takes some getting used to. We tried it and I seem to automatically return to the middle whether I want to or not. So, it can be a slightly difficult habit to develop.
Recommended vape gear…
- VapeXhale Cloud Evo – Powerful Desktop Device
- Tubo Evic Wooden Portable Desktop Vaporizer
- Arizer Go Portable Dry Herb Vaporizer Review.
- Kannastor GR8TR V2 Grinder Review
Skin Dryness
The level of moisture in the skin decreases as we age, leading to spots and wrinkles. Thinning agents in e-cigarettes like propylene glycol can have the same effect because the body uses water to metabolize them. If you are vaping e-liquids, remember to watch out for this chemical and other “carbonyls”, which may cause cancer as well as reproductive illnesses.(( http://nj.gov/health/eoh/rtkweb/documents/fs/0521.pdf )) (( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207867/ ))
How To Beat It
There is really no way to combat the effects of these substances once they are inside the body. Your only defense is in drinking ample water and in taking care to use pre-prepared vaping oils and liquids that do not contain such chemicals.
Internal Health
The most adverse effects of age are on our organs and tissue and these internal signs of aging actually can be the most dangerous. Vaping marijuana can have similar effects on your body.
Cardiovascular Function
The heart and lungs prefer pure blood that contains no external chemicals, be it nicotine, alcohol or THC. Such substances interfere with normal breathing and blood circulation in the same way as old age does when tissue hardens. In fact, the harmful effects of cigarette smoke and smoke from a joint are very similar. (( https://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/marijuana-and-lung-health.html ))
Because there is no combustion and smoke in a vaporizer, you avoid the most harmful effects of aging. However, because marijuana may contain other substances (like fertilizing chemicals), there may still be a detrimental effect on your heart and lungs.
How To Beat it
Opt for organic weed whenever you can to minimize the number of nasty chemicals you inhale.
Mental Health
Old age is inevitably accompanied by a deterioration in mental function. Now, research(( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26842658 )) suggests that marijuana use has an adverse impact on mental health in much the same way that aging does. The Center for Diseases Control (CDC) agrees with this assessment, concluding that
[su_quote]Marijuana users are significantly more likely than nonusers to develop temporary psychosis (not knowing what is real, hallucinations and paranoia) and long-lasting mental disorders, including schizophrenia (a type of mental illness where people might see or hear things that aren’t really there)(( https://www.cdc.gov/marijuana/health-effects.html )).[/su_quote]
How To Beat It
Strictly speaking, you cannot really ‘beat’ this consequence of marijuana use. On the other hand, moderate use can go a long way in countering the most adverse effects.
Other articles to read…
- How To Clean Your Cannabis Vaporizers
- 7 Things to do With Your ABV (Vaped Weed)
- Does Vaping Marijuana Give You The Munchies?
- 29 Dry herbs You Can Vape Instead of Cannabis
The Final Puff
It seems that there are very few things left today that science cannot prove to have a negative impact on your long-term health. We get conflicting information on the effects of alcohol, fried foods and marijuana use, making it almost impossible to be 100% safe.
While vaping marijuana may have an effect on mental and physical health, it also helps many of us deal with the stresses of daily life without resorting to alcohol or medication, which have been shown to be far more addictive(( https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/31/opinion/what-science-says-about-marijuana.html )) and harmful. Perhaps, when you really look into it, your vaping habit is protecting you from factors that can potentially cause even worse aging effects.
Thanks for reading…
Jack OG
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