Doctor compares smoking, vaping and weed to show which is worse for you

It’s probably fair to say that neither smoking, vaping or weed are going to win any health awards in the near future, but there’s often plenty of debate over which is actually the worst for you.

Vaping has long been seen as a less harmful alternative to cigarettes, particularly for people trying to quit smoking. But there is a growing argument that vapes could be just as bad - or even worse - for your lungs. And then, there are those who prefer to partake in the devil's lettuce.

We know smoking comes with some pretty serious health risks, but things get a little murkier once you throw vaping and cannabis into the mix.

Speaking to Dr Andrew Huberman for the Huberman Lab podcast, Dr Peter Attia did a deep dive into everything from cigarettes and joints to vapes, nicotine gum, cannabis, and edibles.

Is vaping just as bad as smoking? (Getty)

When it comes to nicotine, Dr Attia and Dr Huberman agreed that there was a pretty clear pecking order.

Dr Attia, told Huberman that, from least to most harmful, he would put nicotine gum and lozenges first, followed by vaping, then smoking cigarettes.

Vaping, he described, as 'the lesser of two evils,' although he was pretty keen to point out avoiding both would be the ideal scenario.

"If nicotine is what you're after, there are better ways to get nicotine. For example, through lozenges and gum and things like that," he shared.

So, basically, if you've got to get your nicotine fix, there are ways of doing it without filling your lungs with smoke or vape juice.

Meanwhile, when it comes to cannabis, Dr Attia warned that there was 'no reason to believe that smoking cannabis is somehow better than smoking cigarettes'.

The doctor suggested that one joint could be roughly comparable to one cigarette when it comes to harm caused by the smoke itself.

Vape and cigarette stats. (LADbible)

But before anyone starts thinking that means smoking the occasional joint is the same as smoking a pack of ciggies, Dr Attia pointed out that the amount of smoke a cannabis user is exposed to is generally much lower than that of a cigarette smoker.

Someone who smokes cannabis might have a joint occasionally, while a regular cigarette smoker could be getting through 20 or more cigarettes every single day.

As Dr Attia put it, the main argument in favour of smoking weed is that 'the dose seems to be significantly lower.'

That doesn't make smoking cannabis harmless, though.

Podcast host Dr Huberman pointed to some cannabis-specific concerns, noting that while certain forms of cannabis have 'some medical applications', particularly pure CBD, high-THC cannabis has been linked to an increased risk of psychosis, particularly among young men.

And it's an important distinction to make. Something being less harmful than another option doesn't suddenly make it good for you.

Dr Andrew Huberman noted that there were still some health risks involved in smoking cannabis. (Huberman Labs / YouTube)

Going back to vaping, the doctors agreed that, while it's generally considered less harmful for cigarettes, it doesn't mean it's. exactly doing your lungs any favours.

Huberman was particularly concerned with what is actually being inhaled when someone vapes.

"When it comes to smoking versus vaping, it's just very, very apparent that the chemical constituents of the vape and what people are inhaling are terrible for people and are loaded with carcinogens and a bunch of other stuff... that's what worries me the most," Huberman told his guest.

Ultimately, there doesn’t seem to be a particularly healthy winner here - but there is a clear loser.

If you’re a nicotine user, the doctors' preference is to get your fix without inhaling anything, with gum, lozenges and patches all preferable to vaping or smoking.

And for cannabis, avoiding inhalation altogether and going for edibles instead could help reduce some of the risks associated with smoke.

Your lungs, unsurprisingly, would probably appreciate the break.