How to NOT Cough Up a Lung After Smoking

There's nothing that makes a stoner look like it's their first time blazing more than when they cough after every hit. Their face turns as red as a tomato, their eyes are bloodshot red, tears rolling down their face, and the cough alone is enough for people to step back out of COVID concerns. Coughing after taking a hit is the equivalent to the gagging reflex after taking a shot of absinthe without chase. And there's simply no way of getting around it, it seems.

If you are reading this, you probably have found yourself in a situation like this before. And whether you've been smoking since it was illegal or simply trying to appear like you have been, there are some helpful tips and tricks you can practice to cough just a little less. So let's choose our favorite Weedsy Infused flavor and get right to it!

WHY DO PEOPLE COUGH AFTER SMOKING?

Coughing after smoking is actually a very common side effect; and it affects EVERYONE - not just new stoners to the scene. So if you're here because you feel as if your stoner clout is being questioned, you can kindly remind them that everyone coughs for a myriad of different reasons. And yes, even we cough up a lung from time to time - there's no shame in that! But why would someone cough? When you inhale cannabis smoke, the sensory nerves in your airways produce a coughing reflex. This is your body's way of protecting itself against irritating substances. It's a normal response that occurs when you inhale any kind of smoke.

Despite all the benefits cannabis delivers, the way in which you choose to consume it may increase your chances of coughing more so than others. As you probably might imagine, smoking cannabis is likely to trigger the coughing reflex more so than vaping it - and eating it simply removes the reflex from the equation altogether. So how can you cough less, if, at all? There are five things you can do right now to actually enjoy your bud, cough-free!

1) TAKE SMALLER HITS

This one sounds like a no-brainer, but if you're chiefing on a blunt and you're taking these monstrous hits while also praying to the Bud Lords to not punish you for it, you're probably smoking more than you can handle. Try taking smaller hits. After all, there's no shame in taking smaller hits if the overall goal is to not cough, right?

We get it, the natural instinct, especially when you're blazing in your circle is to take in as much as you possibly can and hopefully get incredibly high in the process. That way, while you're waiting for your turn again, you can do so floating away!

Taking smaller hits is a great choice for simply smoking within your means to. The goal is to fill your lungs, not suffocate you. Taking smaller hits and truly enjoying the taste of Berries, Watermelon, and the other Infused flavors we've got while you're avoiding a coughing episode sounds like a winning tip to us!

2) FULLY INHALE

Sounds a little contradictory, huh? Inhaling smaller hits to avoid a cough, but also FULLY INHALING to bring the cannabis smoke into your lungs to get you high? Well, generally speaking, those that inhale cannabis typically do this anyways! One of the most common mistakes stoners make is taking a hit then hesitating to fully inhale the smoke into the lungs. This lag is what causes you to cough. Smoke gets trapped in your throat then all of a sudden your body is going haywire as it fights to prevent you from suffocating. This is why you sometimes see people take a hit, some smoke comes out, then it all gets dragged right back in.

And this doesn't just prevent you from coughing. Fully inhaling is the point of smoking. It allows you to fully enjoy the high associated to your weed!

3) FULLY EXHALE

Don't you hate it when you take a hit, you exhale out the smoke and you're coughing while you're still exhaling? This happens because you still have cannabis smoke in your body. So, the pro-tip here takes a page from the dabbing community. Following the same logic of getting the smoke to clear your throat and not linger around, fully exhaling your lung capacity of any and all smoke goes a long way.

When taking a dab, the goal is to inhale all the built up vapor then quickly exhale. In the process you are getting incredibly high and being able to taste the terpenes present in the concentrate. This follows the same logic, and this time, you're also expelling out the smoke as to avoid a cough!

4) KEEP WATER HANDY

This one might sound like a no-brainer, but, if you are prone to coughing up a lung, staying hydrated might just offset that risk a little more. Keep some water nearby to help get you through your smoking sessions. The lack of saliva can make it harder to handle that bong rip, or, simply inhaling to your heart's (and your friend's expectations) content. Take a few sips in between hits as this will help keep your lungs clear and prevent coughing.

5) CHOOSE BETTER QUALITY BUD

Sorry for the shameless self-promotion. You are, after all, reading a Weedsy blog living on the Weedsy website - so here it goes: one of the most important ways to avoid coughing up a lung is to make sure you're smoking on only the best! And the best just happens to be Weedsy (sorry, not sorry).

If your weed is no good, chances are, it's not a smooth hit. It might be full of chemicals, pesticides, or just downright terrible quality. Spending that extra buck on better quality bud, or, talking to your budtender to learn how long that flower has been sitting on the shelf can go a long way.

If you're the type of person to buy weed from the black market, we highly discourage that and here's why: black market weed is questionable at best. It's pretty much a coin toss as to whether the flower contains pesticides, heavy metals, and other harsh chemicals that can definitely hurt you, let alone make you cough. By opting for better quality weed that you can track, you are doing yourself more than a solid, you are ensuring that you're smoking the most loud and potent bud around!

THE HAIL MARY: DON'T SMOKE

This point might come as a disappointment, but if you're the type of person to cough after every hit, you might not be cut out for inhalation type of consumption. This is nothing to be concerned about - you simply may not be fit for smoking. And it might not matter how good or bad the weed is, or small the hits are, sometimes there are people that are destined to cough themselves to the floor into a red-faced episode each time they choose to join the smoking circle. If you find that you are one of those that falls into this category, there's still hope! You can try edibles, sublingual tinctures, even vaping! Most of the the other consumption methods do not include coughing in their list of side effects. However, it is important to note that given these other consumption methods, you do run the risk of experiencing an entirely different list of effects, both good and bad.

And as for not being able to smoke, well, all that means is you won't be able to enjoy the incredibly potent (and tasty) Weedsy Infused mini pre-rolls. But that's okay, no hard feelings if you can't smoke the same thing we are. There are TONS of other cannabis products out there that you can enjoy. After some exploration, you might just find your new favorite weed product to share with us anyways!

COUGHING IS NORMAL...EVEN IF WE DON'T WANT IT TO BE

If you're the type of person to cough up a lung every time you smoke, there are ways to mitigate it or at the very least, not make the coughing experience such a devastating one. The truth about coughing, however, is that this is a very normal reaction to smoking. When you cough, you are actually exciting the muscle in your lungs which cause your air capillaries to open up. When this happens, more of the smoke is making it into your lungs, thus increasing the amount of THC you are bringing into your system. The end result of it all? YOU ARE GETTING INCREDIBLY HIGH - and that's the point, right?