Does the use of rolling paper affect your health?

Every experienced cannabis consumer has his or her own favourite method of smoking or consuming cannabis. Some people absolutely love the feel of lighting a bong bowl on fire and watching it fill up with creamy smoke. Others love to watch the bag of a massive vaporizer fill up with tasty herbal fumes.

But some people prefer to stick to traditional methods and are in love with the ritual of grinding down their flowers and rolling them up in papers to make a perfect, cone-shaped joint.

The joint is probably the epitome of cannabis smoking, and perhaps one of the calmest and most traditional ways of smoking the herb. There is something vastly therapeutic about passing around a joint whilst relaxing and socialising with a group of friends.

Although this method might be one of the most enjoyable, it certainly isn't the healthiest, and quite a bit of concern has arisen around inhaling the fumes from burning rolling papers. Some people claim that inhaling the smoke of almost any combusted substance is more than likely to introduce carcinogens to your system, substances that can contribute to serious health problems.

Even the smoke produced from burning cannabis has been associated with respiratory dysfunction and pre-cancerous cellular states. However, science has shown that cannabis smoke is far safer for lung health than that of tobacco.

In any case it might be no surprise that adding burning rolling papers to this mix of carcinogen-containing fumes is not the healthiest way to consume.

So although smoking hand-rolled joints is a very enjoyable way of consuming cannabis, you might want to think twice about the type of papers you use to roll them with.

CHEMICALS IN ROLLING PAPERS

It has to be said that the sight of a large, perfectly rolled, white joint without any creases is a beautiful sight and rolling the perfect joint can even be considered an art.

However, that nice bright shade of white has a sinister secret behind it.

Companies often bleach their papers with chlorine in order to give them this appearance. This is a very worrying fact, considering that customers actively light fire to and inhale the fumes of these products.

Bleaching papers with chlorine goes beyond just aesthetics however, and actually helps the papers to burn slower.

What’s even scarier is that the big companies that produce these dangerous bleached products have heavy lobbying influence, and are reported to be attempting to centralise and monopolise the industry.

Bleached white papers might not be the only concern when it comes to rolling papers and health though.

Many different flavoured and coloured rolling papers, as well as blunt wraps, are believed to contain an array of harmful chemicals that are not optimal to inhale on a regular basis.

HEALTHIER OPTIONS

Lighting fire to any rolling paper and inhaling the fumes isn’t exactly a healthy endeavour, however, some products may be much safer to use on a regular basis than others.

Numerous companies have entered the market with products aimed at those who want a slightly healthier alternative to bleached white rolling papers. Rolling papers that are made of 100% hemp and 100% rice have been around for a while and are devoid of large amounts of dangerous and toxic chemicals that may contribute to ill health and disease.

But because these products aren’t bleached, it doesn’t mean they are of a lower smoking quality. Some of these products have been created using innovative techniques that ensure the papers burn at a slow and leisurely rate, maximising the burning and smoking time of a joint.

Many of these products are also very thin and flavourless, meaning the smoker can really detect both the taste and smell of the strain they have elected to smoke, without these sensory pleasures being obstructed by harsh and undesirable chemicals.

A RISE IN VAPING

As modern technology is advancing and vaporisers are getting better, but also more affordable, we can see that many modern day smokers are choosing to utilise the technology of vaping.

Vaping is a much healthier way to consume as it exposes cannabis plant matter to far lower temperatures. In fact, vaporizers don't actually burn the herb or create harmful smoke.

A vaporizer heats up your bud to the point where its active compounds, such as cannabinoids, boil and vaporize out of the herb as a vapor, as opposed to combusting them and inhaling them as a smoke.

This way, you get to enjoy the benefits of cannabinoids, without many of the pitfalls of smoke.

By the way, vaping has even been shown to be healthier for a cannabis consumers' skin.