Smoking Lavender – Health Benefits – Effects On The Body – Risks – Pets And Children – Other Ways To Use It – Summary And Conclusion
There is no evidence or research pointing that smoking lavender carries any form of health benefits to it. But there seem to be claims it does, below we find out the truth.
In recent times there seems to be a larger increase in pushing people to replace or try to smoke herbs or flowers. This seems however to be a push by companies in order to market their priced-up cigarettes containing the flavouring of whatever they have recently found.
Lavender is a plant that is very common to grow at home. It’s very decorative and easy to care for. It has a wonderful smell which perhaps is the reason companies want to push this precise flower.
Lavender contains a lot of essential oils, which play a very important role in aromatherapy and herbal medicine. The oils are extracted in labs and then used to blend these medicines, which can help some people immensely with their sicknesses. Smoking the plant, however, produces smoke and toxins which can have just as bad of an effect as smoking cigarettes can. Increasing the risk of lung cancer and respiratory issues.
It should be mentioned as well that the essential oils in the lavender are the main attraction. But there is no way of checking and ensuring the quality of that when used to smoke. Since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is in no way responsible for quality control here. Talking to a professional before consuming or smoking lavender should be advised.
Could You Smoke The Lavender Flower
The flower of the plant is perhaps the only thing you should be using for smoking. If you have ever been close to lavender you would know that the flowers are where all the fragrance is. Because of that the flowers are the best things to use from the lavender when smoking.
Either you can harvest and dry your own lavender flowers or get them online. Once you have the flowers you will want to grind them down slightly in order to sort of get the oils going in there. Do it by hand or use a grinder. Roll them into a joint and light it up. The flavor will be very strong but also carries a lot of sweetness to it as well. It might remind you of an increase almost, as the aroma is also quite concentrated.
Health Benefits Of Smoking Lavender
There is no scientific evidence that smoking lavender has any form of health benefits. The argument is that smoking lavender provides you with the essential oils which are present in lavender. But there hasn’t been any documented evidence that you are able to inhale these oils.
There are other ways of getting these oils, without inhaling the toxic fumes that smoking the lavender produces.
As you might have noticed, the whole talk about smoking lavender is about essential oils. As there are no health benefits to smoking lavender, there has been positive evidence for making use of the essential oils in lavender.
The essential oils in lavender seem to be able to help with sleep, anxiety, headaches, and even wound healing. The impact of these issues on essential oils seems to be slightly disputed.
There was a study in 2017 that revealed that lavender essential oils can help with infections and kill some of the dangerous species that appear in wounds or infections, namely Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. These tests were however not done on human participants which makes it still uncertain whether or not the essential oils can provide a very important role in our healthcare.
What Does Smoking Lavender Do To Your Body
When smoking regular cigarettes your body is exposed to a lot of harmful chemicals which in a way is benefiting your health. The risk that smoking lavender cigarettes carries is that you are exposed to carcinogens.
Lavender cigarettes don’t contain any harmful additives found in regular cigarettes. But they still produce similar levels of carbon monoxide when ignited.
Smoke is a form of air pollution that contains harmful particles and fumes when inhaled will damage your lungs. Be that smoke from lavender cigarettes or when throwing a barbeque.
The Risk Of Smoking Lavender
The risks that smoking lavender provides seem to currently outweigh the positives with it. The lavender is known to contain essential oils. These oils are still undergoing a lot of experiments to determine whether they are a good replacement or ingredient for healthcare.
Just like smoking cigarettes, it will make you inhale toxic fumes which has been proven to increase the risk of both lung cancer and mouth cancer, but also respiratory issues. These same fumes are produced when smoking lavender. So on one side, you might be getting essential oils which might be incredibly good for the body, but you are also shortening your life expectancy and increasing your risk for cancer.
Smoking Lavender Around Pets And Children
There haven’t been any concrete studies that proclaim positives about smoking lavender cigarettes, but inhaling any form of smoke will have a negative effect on your body. This is especially important if you have pets or children in your household. The effects this could have is very serious.
- It increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome in babies
- Damages the lungs of children and babies still developing
- The risk and frequency of ear infections get higher, along with bronchitis and other infections among children
- Asthma attacks can be a common occurrence
- The risk of your pets getting cancer is also elevated severely
As there haven’t been any studies produced yet we are left with making educated guesses from studies that look at regular tobacco smoking. Where it is now widely affected, secondhand smoking also carries risks.
Better Ways Of Enjoying Lavender
Lavender has been used for many many years already. It’s only recently that there has been a shift to smoking lavender instead, perhaps because of a new generation looking for other flavors as opposed to regular cigarettes.
Some of the best ways of enjoying lavender is by adding it dried to teas or drinks. But it can also be used for baking. Buying fresh lavender and using a scent in your home is also a great option.
For therapeutic use, essential oils have been seen as a good substitute sometimes. But don’t use it without consulting with a professional first as the oils can interact negatively with other medicines. Instead of consuming you can use the essential oils in these ways:
- Aromatherapy diffuser
- Carrier oil to help the skin feel better
- Bath oils, salts, soaps, or even scrubs
- Using it as a pillow spray, is a great way of perfuming the bedroom
Summary And Conclusion
If you have come this far then you will have learned that smoking lavender cigarettes is perhaps not the best idea. The toxic perfumes produced when smoking lavender seem to produce similar levels of harmful carbon monoxide.
Any website claiming there to be great health benefits is most likely pushing a product, as there has been no evidence yet that proved the so-called health benefits of smoking lavender.
Ways of enjoying lavender are many and much safer. Flavoring drinks and foods with dried flowers are some great options. To finish this article we want to highlight the importance of discussing with a doctor before consuming essential oils from lavender, as there is evidence it can negatively impact other medicines or prescriptions.
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