Let’s be honest. Smoking itself is a dangerous and risky habit (and can deal more damage if a person becomes addicted to the substance in question). However, for this conversation, let’s consider the differences between marijuana blunts (another name for pot cigars) and tobacco cigarettes, perhaps the two most common and easy-to-make smoking tools available on the market. Thanks to legalization efforts, the little green cannabis plant has received a stronger standing in state laws. As a result, if you live in a pot-legal state, the changes are high (no pun intended) that you will see someone smoking a blunt in a designated smoking area, right next to the regular cigarette smokers. So, this brings up a very important point. Which is more hazardous to your health: blunts or cigarettes? Let’s take a closer look at some facts and find out.
What We Have in Common
First of all, let’s consider what these two items have in common. Both blunts and cigarettes contain tobacco (one of the most hazardous plants on the market), which is carcinogenic and highly addictive (thanks to the addictive substance nicotine). In fact, 72% of the compounds found in tobacco (numbering at 4,000) can directly contribute to cancer.
Very Different Ball Game
To determine if blunts are more hazardous than traditional cigarettes, let’s take a closer look at some of the major differences between these two smoking sticks:
- Typically, people consume blunts less frequently than tobacco cigarettes given the fact that blunts, to put it lightly, are very difficult to chain smoke. In fact, the American Journal of Preventative Medicine determined that three blunts is the maximum number used by consumers.
- Unlike cigarettes, blunts do not have filters, meaning a person will inhale a significantly larger quantity of ash and tar into their lungs than if they were smoking the smaller variety. Cigarettes will not protect users from cancer, but these smokers are not inhaling as many carcinogenic byproducts.
- Unlike cigarettes smoking, people will deeply inhale smoke from a blunt and hold for several seconds. As part of this process, the smoker is inflicting tremendous damage on their lung tissue. As a direct result, the smoker will also be exposed to higher levels of carbon monoxide by smoking a blunt.
Ultimately, while science has proven that marijuana is nowhere near as harmful as tobacco and nicotine, blunts are still significantly harmful to your health, perhaps (in several ways) deadlier than cigarettes.
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