Rather than burning the herb, which produces potentially irritating, toxic, or carcinogenic by-products; a vaporizer heats the material in a partial vacuum so that the active compounds contained in the plant boil off into a vapor. This method is often preferable when medically administrating the smoke substance, as opposed to directly pyrolyzing the plant material. Physiology
The active substances in tobacco, especially cigarettes, are administered by burning the leaves and inhaling the vaporized gas that results. This quickly and effectively delivers substances into the bloodstream by absorption through the alveoli in the lungs. The lungs contain some 300 million alveoli, which amounts to a surface area of over 70 m2 (about the size of a tennis court). This method is not completely efficient as not all of the smoke will be inhaled, and some amount of the active substances will be lost in the process of combustion, pyrolysis. Pipe and Cigar smoke are not inhaled because of its high alkalinity, which are irritating to the trachea and lungs. However, because of its higher alkalinity (pH 8.5) compared to cigarette smoke (pH 5.3), non-ionized nicotine is more readily absorbed through the mucous membranes in the mouth. Nicotine absorption from cigar and pipe, however, is much less than that from cigarette smoke. Nicotine and cocaine activate similar patterns of neurons, which supports the existence of common substrates among these drugs.The absorbed nicotine mimics nicotinic acetylcholine which when bound to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors prevents the reuptake of acetylcholine thereby increasing that neurotransmitter in those areas of the body.
Now, the hookah has gained immense popularity, especially in the Middle East. A hookah operates by water filtration and indirect heat. It can be used for smoking herbal fruits, tobacco, or cannabis. Kretek
Kretek are cigarettes made with a complex blend of tobacco, cloves and a flavoring "sauce". It was first introduced in the 1880s in Kudus, Java, to deliver the medicinal eugenol of cloves to the lungs. The quality and variety of tobacco play an important role in kretek production, from which kretek can contain more than 30 types of tobacco. Minced dried clove buds weighing about one-third of the tobacco blend are added to add flavoring. In 2004 the United States prohibited cigarettes from having a "characterizing flavor" of certain ingredients other than tobacco and menthol, thereby removing kretek from being classified as cigarettes. Pipe smoking
Pipe smoking is done with a tobacco pipe, typically consisting of a small chamber (the bowl) for the combustion of the tobacco to be smoked and a thin stem (shank) that ends in a mouthpiece (the bit). Shredded pieces of tobacco are placed into the chamber and ignited. Roll-your-own
Roll-your-own or hand-rolled cigarettes, often called "rollies", "cigi" or "Roll-ups", are very popular particularly in European countries and the UK. These are prepared from loose tobacco, cigarette papers, and filters all bought separately. They are usually much cheaper than ready-made cigarettes and small contraptions can be bought making the process easier. Vaporizer
A vaporizer is a device used to sublimate the active ingredients of plant material.