The Difference Between Smoke And Vapor!

Smoke and vapor are as different as chalk and cheese. There have been several scientific studies conducted to examine vaporizers. Studies that concentrated on the Volcano Vaporizer have shown that the harmful elements that exist in smoking are either completely eliminated or reduced dramatically in vaporizers.

A mention needs to be made here of a study conducted in the year 1996 on two simple vaporizers, showed that the vapor contained ten times more tar than active ingredients. This was, however, seen to be as 30% better than any smoking methods that exist. That must show us how bad smoking can be for our health.

In yet another recent study conducted in 2006 by Leiden University researchers, the high-end Volcano Vaporizer tested with preparations of smoking material revealed that Volcano Vaporizer is a safe and effective herb delivery system. With vaporization, although, the final uptake of active ingredients is almost comparable to that of smoking, it does have the advantage of keeping away the respiratory disadvantages that accompany smoking.

With the use of crude flower tops and other plant material, other active ingredients along with several plant components that include terpenoids were detected in the plant material. However, when popular smoking herbs were used in the Volcano Vaporizer, the HPLC analysis did not show any degradation products.

A study performed in 2004 showed that the Volcano Vaporizer was quite clean, with about 89% active ingredients present in the vapor. In a total contrast, smoking revealed more than 111 components and around six known PAHs, in the gas formed by the combusted smoke. The total gas content of the smoke contained almost as many as 88% non-preferred compounds. This study used plant material that contained active ingredients up to 4.15%. The study also used mass spectrometry and gas chromatography for vapor analysis to look for toxins, which include polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons and pyrene.

This vapor analysis revealed that the Volcano delivered about 36% to 61% of the active ingredients in the sample used. A recent study showed a maximum of 54% when pure herbal preparations were used. For comparison, herb cigarettes were smoked through a smoking machine under different puff durations and air speed, and it was that there were 34% to 61% active ingredients in the vapor.

In a study in 2001 that tested a different device, researchers found that by heating herbs to a temperature less than the combustion point, medically active ingredients can be vaporized. They also found that this completely eliminates or reduces the harmful toxins that are associated with smoke. At a temperature of 365 degrees, the device produced active ingredients and totally eliminated three measured toxins, naphthalene, benzene and toluene. Even the smoke tars and carbon monoxide have reduced but the quantities were not measured.

These results, which are positive, are in complete contrast to studies done previously, which were not so positive. This helped come to the conclusion that the effectiveness of vaporization is not the same with every vaporizer and it varies from one to the other. We will at a later point in our article, look into the factors that lead to this variation in results between vaporizers.

In a study conducted in 1996, two vaporizer models were pitted against the regular smoking devices; filtered and unfiltered herb cigarettes. Analysis was done on the smoke produced, looking for three major active ingredients and tars. Then the different smoking methods were rated, going by the ratio of active ingredients to tar.

There is one thing that these studies did not measure and that is the presence of toxic gases, such as hydrogen cyanide, ammonia and carbon monoxide. However, previous studies did reveal a decrease in carbon monoxide with vaporization.

Vaporizers do produce cleaner vapors than smoking but do not completely negate the effect on respirations and they cause irritation. Sometimes, a puff of a strong herb vapor may cause coughing and this could be due to the active ingredients that may irritate the bronchus.

The factors that affect the output of the vaporizer

All the scientific studies reveal that the choice of vaporizer plays a major role in the delivery of the perfect vapor as well as in the production of harmful by-products.

Some of these factors include:

• The temperature
• Weight, content of the essential oils and water
• Material consistency in the filling chamber
• Preparations such as herbs, extracts, crude flowertops, etc.
• The length of time vapor is stored
• Density of the specimen
• Breathing technique – the active ingredients exhaled

All of these factors have not actually been tested in the research studies. The delivery efficiency when using the vaporizer was found to be highest at around 226 degrees Celsius, but depending on the material used, it sometimes was as low as 150 to 180 degrees. Researchers have noticed that the highest efficiency was achieved for pure herbal preparations. For pure herbs, it was about 54%; for plant material, it was about 29% with active ingredient content of 12%. When pure herbs were used in the Volcano Vaporizer and analysed using HPLC, no degradation products were noted.

Researchers noted that the longer the vapor was stored, the more the active ingredients lost. This was due to the condensation that takes place. This may not be much of a loss when vapor is stored for a little time but when it exceeds 90 minutes; the loss was noted to be more than 50%.

Vaporization Temperatures

At Low Temperature: up - (150C) 302F

Dandelion: (125C - 150C) 257F - 302F
Meadowsweet: (100C - 150C) 212F - 302F
Peppermint: (100C - 150C) 212F - 302F
Thyme: (100C - 150C) 212F - 302F
Clove: (125C - 150C) 257F - 302F
Lavender: (100C - 125C) 212F - 257F
Passionflower: (100C - 150C) 212F - 302F
Saint Johns Wort: (100C - 150C) 212F - 302F
Tobacco: (125C - 150C) 257F - 302F
Sage: (125C - 150C) 257F - 302F

At Medium Temperature: up - (175C) 347F

Damiana: (150C - 175C) 302F - 347F
Cats Claw: (150C - 175C) 302F - 347F
Coffee: (150C - 175C) 302F - 347F
Fennel: (150C - 175C) 302F - 347F
Ginkgo Biloba: (125C - 175C) 257F - 347F
Saw Palmetto-: (125C - 175C) 257F - 347F
Hawthorn: (125C - 175C) 257F - 347F

At High Temperature: up - (200C) 392F

Aloe Vera: (175C - 200C) 347F - 392F
Garlic: (175C - 200C) 347F - 392F
Evening Primrose: (150C - 200C) 302F - 392F
Ginseng: (175C - 200C) 347F - 392F
Licorice: (175C - 200C) 347F - 392F 
Ginger (175C - 200C) 347F - 392F