Many people today prefer vaping to smoking, and for a good reason. Vaping enables one to enjoy a distilled and purer concentrate of either CBD, marijuana, or nicotine with ease. It eliminates all the toxicities that come from smoking and the lung-damaging tar. The CBD oil vape UK scene is exploding right now. Although it may be the newest craze in town, many people still wonder if CBD vape oil is entirely safe for them. 

Vaping: What It Is And Why People Prefer It To Smoking

Vaping involves vaporizing the preferred substance at a controlled temperature without burning the contents. In other words, it eliminates the need to burn (combustion) the contents to be satisfied. 

Vaping doesn’t encourage secondary smoking, hence widely allowed in public places. This is unlike smoking whereby one has to look for a smoking zone to take a puff. In addition to this, vaping makes it possible to try different flavours of whatever one is using. It is also worth noting that, the vaporization process limits the amount of CBD one inhales/exhales per session. This means you can measure your desired dosage precisely, and most importantly, don’t force it on passers-by. 

Is Vaping A Health Risk: What Are the Possible Problems If Any?

1.Cuticle Wax Accumulation

Have you ever smoked marijuana in its dry and traditional form? If you have, you might have noticed a small shiny sheen at the surface of the bud.  Most smokers see this as a premonition of the good feeling to come from smoking marijuana. 

Unknown to many, the sheen is only a layer of lipids that form on most cannabis plants when they flower. The sheen is what many terms as cuticle wax. Cuticle wax is the first to burn away when you light that marijuana bud. It has a distinctive burning and slightly acrid taste.  Cuticle wax isn't however destroyed during vaporization. This has been a concern for CBD oil Vapers since it leads to cuticle wax accumulation in either the vape pen or in your lungs. 

Vaping CBD Oil containing cuticle wax leads to cuticle wax accumulation. As mentioned earlier, the wax isn't burnt away, but rather bind with other lipids and CBD thus entering all the way to your lungs.  The wax builds up over time forming a small, waxy lump inside the airway. To prevent this from happening, CBD oil is refined in a process known as winterization which removes this wax. 

2.Winterization

Winterization is a newly discovered process that facilitates purification and clarification of CBD oil. Before the process was formulated, CBD oil could only be extracted through the standard extraction methods and heating solutions. 

Winterization, however, involves soaking CBD oil in alcohol extracts, which is then frozen – thus the name winterization.  This process is however costly and takes a lot of time to distil CBD. It is however worth the trouble considering the result is distilled CBD free from any impurities, cuticle wax included. The process is almost similar to how spirits and brandy are produced. Winterizing spirits and brandy would, however, separate chemicals and elements in the same which make it unique, hence not necessary in these. 

Winterized CBD oil is therefore much safe to vape as compared to non-distilled CBD. Several other concerns may, however, arise from the way the oil is extracted/made. 

3.Propylene Glycol and Other Thinning Agents

The process of extracting and manufacturing CBD oil (for vaping) makes the oil a little too viscous. Manufacturers however want to bottle or transport the oil in liquid-like form. The only way to do this would be by adding carrier oils to the same. 

Hemp and coconut oils are the most preferred solutions for suspending CBD.  This makes the oil viscous enough for vaping. Manufactures however have to add thinning agents such as propylene Glycol to make the CBD oil thinner for vaping. 

PG helps make CBD oil easier and smoother to imbibe.  This however comes at a cost. According to studies published in the American Paediatric Society journal, Propylene Glycol can break down into carcinogenic compounds which could be harmful to the user's health. Excessive amounts of PG and intake of the same can also cause the death of cells, a process known as apoptosis. This is according to a study conducted on the effects of PG in the brain of mice. 

Conclusion 

CBD oil has long been used to treat various health conditions. This is due to its effectiveness on the endocannabinoid system of the human body.  Like any other form of medication, vaping CBD oil has its advantages and disadvantages. 

The good news however is that the latest advances in technology and research has helped researchers come up with ways to make it safer for all vapers. Winterized CBD oil, for example, is a purer, lipid-free, and non-addictive CBD that can be used in a number of applications. This includes vaping.