The holding hits debate, regarding VAPOR

The holding hits debate has been ongoing for quite some time with both sides producing evidence in their support.

As erb is very hard to find in my area, I would prefer to conserve as much as possible and have read certain NORML studies that say "as much as 40% of available THC is often exhaled."

We all know smoke is harmful and should not be held in the lungs.

However, vaporizers are much healthier on the lungs.

Oxygen deprivation killing brain cells hardly sounds like a logical argument, as one would only be holding the hit a maximum of 30-45 seconds.

Competitive swimmers hold their breath underwater for upwards of a minute, 1.5 minutes at time, while simultaneously exerting more energy and oxygen through swimming and they show no signs of brain damage, thus leading me to doubt that 30 seconds of quietly holding one's breath while not burning much energy (i.e. sitting on couch etc) contributes to brain damage from O2 deprivation.

Does anyone know of any negative consequences of holding in vapor hits?

ALWAYS hold in vapor hits, there is a hell of a lot more thc, hence it takes a lot longer to be absorbed. And i dont see any downside because there are much less if any carcinogens in thc vapor

Thanks for the reply 420, those were my thoughts exactly, but wanted to see if others agreed.

I light-bulb vape most of the time, but in doing so, I usually only get 2 good hits per bowl (but they are quite big).

That's two votes for hold 'em!

i dont usually hold hits in if its a pipe (bong-always). but down here ive seen ppl yell at some1 esle cuz they didnt hold it in. its fucked up. i do think that ur lungs do absorb more thc when u hold it in. it shouldnt hurt it anymore that u would from not holding it, ur still putting it in ur lungs and putting it out.

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Originally Posted by greenhead

i dont usually hold hits in if its a pipe (bong-always). but down here ive seen ppl yell at some1 esle cuz they didnt hold it in. its fucked up. i do think that ur lungs do absorb more thc when u hold it in. it shouldnt hurt it anymore that u would from not holding it, ur still putting it in ur lungs and putting it out.

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When you hold smoke in you allow more time for your lungs to absorb the carcinogens in the smoke

Since large hits off a lightbulb vap don't make you want to cough as bad as a large hit by anything else, I usually try to hold it in longer. I read that THC gets absorbed within 3 seconds off a pipe or bong, so I try not to hold it in more than 5.

Fuck the bullshit, hold it in...

I believe the THC is absorbed quicker with smoke, so more is lost with a quick exhale of vapor vs. smoke. And since vapor is much cleaner, holding vapor hits would be both safer and more effective. So my attitude is 'hold your vapor and blow your smoke'. :D

I have often had this debate with myself as well.

When vaping (sometimes with regular smoke as well) I tend to take a rip, then pull in a few breaths of clean air ontop of the smoke. This not only presses the smoke further into your lungs, but mixes in a bit of fresh air. To exhale I breahte out for a second or so, pull in more fresh air and then exhale the rest of the hit.

I have found this to feel cleaner and mroe efficient than simply holding in fat bong rips.

I do however find it frusterating when people tell you how to smoke pot or criticize you for not holding in hits. different tokes for different folks :jointsmile:

Well i hold my hits whether im smokin dat herb or vapin it. I find when i don't hold my hits i get high but it just isn't the same to me. Especially when u vape if you dont hold it its just worthless. I usually hold my vape hits until there is no vapor released when i exhale. IDK ppl say its terrible that i hold my hits till its just air comin out but it worx for me.

I thought your lungs only absorb so much oxygen/smoke etc. per breath?
Your lungs fill up with oxygen and distrubute to throughout the body returning it with carbon dioxide which is then exhaled right?

well guys and gals, all i know is that i got high after my friend took a hit off a joint and then exhaled/blew the smoke into my lungs.

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Originally Posted by The Baked Head

well guys and gals, all i know is that i got high after my friend took a hit off a joint and then exhaled/blew the smoke into my lungs.

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That's right. The THC in smoke isn't absorbed 100% as soon as it hits your lungs, it just gets absorbed quicker than vapor. With a quick exhale of vapor, you'll lose more THC than with the same exhale of smoke.

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Originally Posted by vapefiend

That's right. The THC in smoke isn't absorbed 100% as soon as it hits your lungs, it just gets absorbed quicker than vapor. With a quick exhale of vapor, you'll lose more THC than with the same exhale of smoke.

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I believe that,but I was thinking your lungs sorta close up(not taking in anymore)once you stopped inhaling.
Maybe from when I used to snorkel,I was told to pump my lungs real quick for awhile before taking in a deep breath to go down.

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Originally Posted by StickyfingahZ

I believe that,but I was thinking your lungs sorta close up(not taking in anymore)once you stopped inhaling.
Maybe from when I used to snorkel,I was told to pump my lungs real quick for awhile before taking in a deep breath to go down.

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Your mean the lungs aren't absorbing any more vapor once you stop the inhale? I don't know. Is there a doctor in the house?

As for pumping your lungs when snorkeling, I think that's to get more oxygen in your body so it'll be a longer time before your lungs demand another breath. I've done the same thing while vaporizing, in order to take a slower, deeper hit and hold it longer.

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Originally Posted by vapefiend

Your mean the lungs aren't absorbing any more vapor once you stop the inhale? I don't know. Is there a doctor in the house?

As for pumping your lungs when snorkeling, I think that's to get more oxygen in your body so it'll be a longer time before your lungs demand another breath. I've done the same thing while vaporizing, in order to take a slower, deeper hit and hold it longer.

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Thats what I been doing as well,When I take a hit,I sorta let a little out and breathe back in and repeat.I do feel higher,but not sure if its because of a lack of oxygen.I aint a doctor,but I remember reading in my brothers Personal Trainer books about the Lungs taking as much oxygen as the body can hold.The stronger your lungs get the more oxygen you can hold or take in.I remember it saying something about that being why people who are unfit or long time smokers or just people who dont excercise are gasping for air,because their heart and lungs arent as conditioned or as strong as a person who has a well conditioned set of lungs and healthy heart.
I guess,if that is true,If I become more physically active and become fit,my lungs can absorb more oxygen as well as thc per hit....right?
But if your holding it in....I guess the vapors have to go somewhere.Once it's in your system,its in your system.lol
sorry,im high,if this doesnt make sense,its okay.
The vaporizer does a good job of getting you there,lol

ghost it baby!

(ghosting= when you exhale, theres no smoke whatsoever left)

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Originally Posted by hybridlove420

ghost it baby!

(ghosting= when you exhale, theres no smoke whatsoever left)

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I guess you mean vapor. We sure don't want any smoke from a vape, first hit or last. ;)

hold it in... Why would it matter if you get more carcinogens anyway... theres so much worse things you consume everyday.. don't worry about it unless you have respiratory problems now

:rastasmoke::rastasmoke: volcano on...bzzzzzzzzz....inhale....hold....mmmmmm

brain damage from lack of oxygen will not happen from holding your hits in, unless you hold them in for 5 minutes, which you won't be doing. that's about how long it takes for brain cells to start dying from hypoxia

I take small rips and hold them in for 5-7 seconds . . . . gets me stoned as fuck.

huge hits are something people do with smoke, it's redundant to do it with vapor . . . your lungs can only absorb a small portion of it, so why force more in?

I believe it's much more effective to take 10 smaller hits only holding in 5 seconds than taking HUGE hits holding them in 30 seconds and still blowing out vapor, you coulda taken 3 hits in that time and got higher . . . .

Excellent topic and revolutionary for those who care about their health as vaporization is aimed at suppressing respiratory toxins. This is done by heating cannabis to a temperature where cannabinoid vapors form (typically around 180-190°C), but below the point of combustion where smoke and associated toxins are produced (near 230°C). Of particular concern are the carcinogenic polynuclear (or â??polycyclicâ?�) aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), known byproducts of combustion that are thought to be a major culprit in smoking-related cancers. One study showed vapors were found to consist overwhelmingly of cannabinoids (good stuff), while the combusted control contained over one hundred additional chemicals, including several known PAHs (really bad stuff). Another study, upon analysis, found the vaporizer delivered THC while completely eliminating three specific toxins (naphthalene, benzene and toluene) in the solid phase of the vapor. What amazes me the most, is how many compounds are present in an gaseous analysis of combusted cannabis. These are reduced to a handful of trace amounts when vaporized. While more research is needed, as of know it appears there is no reason why holding your breath filled with vapor would cause any perceivable harm.


Fehr, K.O. and Kalant, H. 1972. Analysis of cannabis smoke obtained under different combustion conditions. Can J Physiol Pharmacol 50: 761-7.

Perez-Reyes, M. 1990. Marijuana smoking: factors that influence the bioavailability of tetrahydrocannabinol. In C.N. Chiang and R.L. Hawks, eds. Research Findings on Smoking of Abused Substances. NIDA Research Monograph 99:42-62.

:rastasmoke::rastasmoke::rastasmoke:

This website (cannabis.com for all you stoned peeps) use to have a daily fact and one day it said that THC enters you lungs instantly and there's no need to hold in smoke for more than 3 seconds or something like that. Any truth in that? That quote from this websites daily fact was from years back.

The debate is quickly answer once you experiment on yourself and forget what this article said or did not said.
If you vap and don't hold it in you just wont get as much effect, simple.
That is my experience at least.
Stoners have know this simple fact from way back.

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Originally Posted by t3chyo

This website (cannabis.com for all you stoned peeps) use to have a daily fact and one day it said that THC enters you lungs instantly and there's no need to hold in smoke for more than 3 seconds or something like that. Any truth in that? That quote from this websites daily fact was from years back.

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from my understanding that refers to smoke not vapor. Oh and I was told that vapor has a higher THC content so therefore I hold it in till I can't anymore. sometimes I still blow out some vapor but I take big hits:vap_smiley:

My thought is if ya can't tell the difference......then it probably doesnt make any difference. :thumbsup:

Vaporizers are nice, you get all the good flavor of the weed, and for me it does seem to get me there in fewer hits then a bong or joint.. But blunts are still my favorite, just something about rolling a blunt with some sticky icky, gets me everytime.

:stoned: