Coughing from Weed?How to
Not Cough When Smoking Weed
Why does weed make you cough?
I struggle from asthma and bronchitis and I have not one but many solutions you can use to stop coughing from weed.
To learn how to not cough when smoking weed you are going to want to focus on these three pain points:
1- How you ignite your cannabis matters (the fire).
2- The actual inhalation process (I have a few hacks for you)
3- The actual device you are using to smoke matters a lot. (smoother hits)
Pro-Tip: Make sure you read all the solutions below. I had to combine a few methods to eliminate my coughing completely but it’s a trial and error process so make sure to check out all the tips first!
Why Does Weed Make You Cough?
There are many reasons you could be coughing from weed.
How hot the smoke is when it hits your lungs is a huge factor.
Particles such as ash, resin, and tar can also be entering into your lungs. Coughing is your lungs way of naturally pushing it out!
How much you are smoking, how you inhale, and your exhale all matters as well.
I’ll go over a list of pointers below and feel free to combine, mix, and use them however you see fit!
This is how I smoke weed without coughing till this day!
1. Your Weed Cough and Your Lighter
The butane in your lighter is one of the biggest culprits to your coughing.
Josh Wurzer, of SC labs found that butane was a class 33 solvent, which meant it had toxic potentials on humans and plenty of impurities that enter your lungs.
When you light your cannabis and inhale you are pulling butane into your lungs and this can cause coughing.
A simple solution is to switch out your lighter for a Hemp Wick (this one is my favorite).
Hemp wicks are 100% natural, unrefined, unbleached, and is made from all natural hemp and beeswax.
You simply use a lighter to light the hemp wick and then use the wick to light your cannabis.
How to Light Weed: Avoid placing the flame in your cannabis for too long and too deeply. You want to use a fast circular motion with the flame, barely grazing the surface of weed to ignite it and once a cherry begins (the weed turns ember orange) I stop the lighting immediately.
If you want to cough less when smoking weed then definitely reduce the amount of time the flame stays in your bowl, because the hotter the smoke the more likely you will get a nasty weed cough.
2. Coughing from Weed? Try These Pipes
Learning how to not cough when smoking cannabis was solved for me when I found these two devices.
I did a thorough review on both of these weed pipes so make sure to check that out if you want a closer look at the testing.
The device you smoke from matters a lot when it comes to coughing.
Smoking from a bong forces you to take very large rips which is another reason you may be coughing from weed.
So avoid large smoking devices!
Both of these pipes were designed to extend the travel time of the smoke.
The longer the smoke has to travel the more time the smoke has to cool down, giving you a much smoother hit.
For example this pipe forces the smoke through a glass coil tube surrounded by frozen glycerin.
The travel time of the smoke is extended because of the coils allowing even more cooling.
This results in an extra smooth hit which allows me to smoke weed without coughing.
The long pathway also catches more resin and tar so it does not enter your lungs. If you’re interested you can find it here.
This is my daily smoker, but the only downside is it’s not very portable and needs to remain in your freezer.
If you want something more travel friendly and will not break check out the next pipe!
If you are looking for a more indestructible and portable option this one is an amazing option to stop a weed cough.
It was invented by a scientist who has over 100 patents in life saving technologies.
The smoke is forced to travel through a very long maze that extends the pathway by up to 12 inches!
When you smoke you literally can feel the delay before the smoke hits your mouth and it is noticeably cooler!
There is also a filter at the end to stop any ash, resin, and tar from entering into your lungs.
I use this pipe every time I travel, and it’s extremely easy to clean. You can find it here.
3 - How you Inhale and Exhale Matters
A lot of beginners have trouble with coughing from weed due to inhaling and exhaling issues.
If this is your first time smoking weed you may want to check out the article I wrote on how to inhale weed.
In the article I explain that a common problem is that most people do not exhale fully.
After you draw the smoke into your lungs you want to exhale until you see zero smoke coming out of your mouth.
You may notice an urge to cough, but keep on exhaling and you will notice the urge disappears as you deplete all the smoke from you lungs!
Pro-tip: Another great trick is when you are inhaling you want to curl your tongue upwards so the tip of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth. You want to do this as you inhale so the smoke hits your tongue before entering your lungs. This gives more surface area and your saliva helps to cool the smoke even more!
More Tips on How to Stop Coughing When Smoking
If the above methods or tools aren’t for you then I created more tips below.
Whether you are smoking from a bong, cart, or pen I’ll give you tips and tricks on how to smoke weed without irritating your throat!
How to not not cough when using a pen
If you want to learn how to not cough when smoking a cart the answer is actually very simple.
Learning how to not cough when using a pen simply comes down to how hard and fast you are inhaling.
You want to make sure you are pulling very fast and hard when smoking with a pen or cart and that you are making a soft O shape with your mouth rather then pursing your lips.
Basically don’t be timid!
If you are timid and smoke softly the atomizer does not function correctly which results in a horrendous burn and cough.
This isn’t the case for all carts and pens, just most!
So if you are coughing just try pulling fast and hard with an O like shape with your lips.
You should get a nice and smooth hit with zero coughs!
How to not cough when hitting a bong
Smoking from bong is tricky to prevent coughing.
Weed coughs are common with bongs simply because of the massive hits.
I do enjoy using bong from time to time and the best trick is to use a bong filter which helps to filter out resin and tar.
On top of that I definitely recommend a glycerin bong (which forces the heated smoke through a ice cold pathway cooling it down tremendously).
Another great option is to use an ice bong which basically uses an ice pinch in the neck to hold ice cubes. This forces the hot smoke over the ice for a super cool rip.
The cooler the smoke the less chances you cough but make sure to add the filter on top as well and you will reduce the chances of coughing from weed tremendously.
How to smoke a joint without coughing
If you prefer smoking dry herbs with paper such as joints and blunts then the coughing is most likely coming from the lack of filtration.
The other reason is of course the lack of cooling.
You will want to take small quality hits. What I mean is take a soft inhale but make sure you bring it down fully into your lungs.
Your chest (diagprahm) should lift up fully as you inhale.
You can also roll your tongue so the tip touches the roof of the mouth to act as a cooling surface area the smoke must glide across before it hits your lung.
These two should be more than enough to help you to not cough when smoking a joint!
Final Thoughts on Coughing from Weed
Learning how to not cough when smoking weed has been quite a journey for me.
I quit on numerous occasions and even tried switching to edibles, vapes, and tinctures. Nothing could compare to the high from smoking so overcoming my weed cough was very important.
Now that I use the right tools in 2023, light the cannabis correctly, and learned how to exhale fully, coughing from weed is no longer an issue.
I hope my experiences can help you to stop coughing when smoking as well!
