Whenever someone asks me this question, I always wonder why.
Do you just like to smoke random things and you’re wondering if tea could be one of them?
Did you hear that some people smoke tea and you’re wondering if it’s true (and if you’re missing out)?
Are you looking for another way to get the health benefits of tea, apart from drinking or eating it?
If you have a minute, would you mind letting me know in the comments below? I really am curious.
Whatever the reason, I do want to make sure I answer your question and give you any other info you might need. Keep reading.
Table of Contents
- 1 Can You Smoke Tea? And What Happens?
- 2 Smoking Tea: Final Thoughts
Can You Smoke Tea? And What Happens?
Smoking tea has a similar effect to drinking it, only the effects are felt much faster due to the quick absorption of chemicals into the lungs.
Smoking anything including tea, can have serious health risks, and should be avoided.
Do People Really Smoke Tea?
Yes, they do! Green tea cigarettes have been popular in parts of Asia for years.
In Vietnam, for example, it is quite common to see people smoking green tea in a hand rolled cigarette that looks like a joint. There are people that smoke tea just like some people smoke cigarettes.
This is not a smart thing to do, but that never stopped anyone from doing anything before!
There are some people that swear smoking tea is healthy for you and advocate that it makes them feel more relaxed and better in general.
That’s probably true.
However, drinking tea has the exact same effect and it does not come with the damage done to your throat and lungs any time you inhale any type of smoke.
Why smoke it, when you can drink it?
What Does it Feel Like to Smoke Tea? Do You Get High?
Some people say smoking tea makes them feel more relaxed. Others say they get a little caffeine rush, much like when they drink it, only more intense and quicker.
It can also make you feel a little lightheaded. That’s because you are inhaling carbon monoxide. But this is not the same feeling as being high.
It is not a pleasurable feeling to be lightheaded from lack of oxygen. If you have ever smoked a cigarette as a nonsmoker and felt that odd dizzy feeling afterward, you know what it feels like to smoke tea. It may also leave you with a sore throat.
Smoking Tea Caffeine Boost
The caffeine boost from smoking tea is another story altogether. People that smoke tea regularly report that the caffeine rush they get from it is one of the best reasons to smoke tea.
Because you do not have to wait for your body to digest the liquid tea, smoking it gives you an almost immediate effect. You feel it instantly.
You will have to decide if a fast caffeine rush is worth destroying your lungs. For me, the answer is an easy no.
Is Smoking Tea Safe?
And this is why it is a no. Smoking tea is not safe. There are no scientific studies proving that smoking tea is safe for your body. But smoking anything will always do damage to your lungs and throat.
That said, there are unsubstantiated claims that smoking green tea is a good way to help you kick the cigarette habit.
Is Smoking Tea More Dangerous Than Cigarettes?
There are no nefarious effects from smoking tea that are any more dangerous than smoking cigarettes.
As we all know by now, smoking cigarettes can cause cancer and it destroys your cardiovascular system, among many other extremely unsavory consequences.
Knowing how dangerous smoking cigarettes is, you can be sure that smoking tea is not any worse. But there is no reason to believe it is any better either!
Using Tea To Quit Cigarettes
There are people that claim to have used smoking tea to successfully stop smoking tobacco. This seems silly to me when you could just use the nicotine patch or lozenges to stop smoking.
Why would you subject your poor lungs to more burning air and chemicals when that is the whole reason you are quitting smoking to begin with?
Nonetheless there are people that do this against the advice of their doctors and all known logic.
What Kind Of Tea Is The Best To Smoke?
The best tea to smoke is none. However, if you are going to smoke tea for some reason, green tea is widely regarded as the best kind of tea to smoke.
Because of its health benefits, people naturally reach for green tea when considering which kind to smoke.
There are people that smoke black tea, and all kinds of herbal teas as well, but green tea is by far the most popular and widely smoked kind of tea.
Smoking green tea regularly is not that uncommon in many parts of the world, especially in Asia, as mentioned earlier.
Can You Smoke Tea With Weed?
This is something that some people do to change the flavor or enhance the high of the weed they are smoking.
I am not sure why anyone would want to do this considering how much money it costs for fancy high quality weed in today’s dispensaries.
Still, there are a small number of pot smokers that will buy loose leaf tea and roll it up with their joints to enhance the flavor and smoking experience. It takes all kinds of people to make the world go round, I suppose.
Can You Purchase Tea Cigarettes?
Yes, there are many kinds of green tea cigarettes available on the market. You can buy them online or in physical brick and mortar shops.
There is enough of a demand for these things that there are plenty of manufacturers out there producing them to fill the market need.
Do Tea Cigarettes Have Nicotine?
Green tea cigarettes do not contain nicotine like real cigarettes, and they are not regulated by the FDA,. You must be incredibly careful purchasing them, since you have no way of knowing what is really in them.
It may be safer to smoke real cigarettes just for the fact that they are required to disclose all the ingredients and they are heavily regulated.
I say this in jest, of course. It is not safer to smoke cigarettes. They are known to cause cancer, but at least the industry is heavily regulated.
With regulation comes disclosures and a little more peace of mind. Regulation can not make a dangerous product safe, but at least you will know what you are getting.
You may find lots of these green tea cigarette makers claim that their product is great for helping you quit smoking. There is not a single study to confirm this claim so be careful what you believe.
Bottom line: because it is not a heavily regulated industry, you won’t always be aware of what you are about to smoke. That is dangerous.
Is Smoking Tea Legal?
Yes. There are no laws against smoking tea. Of course, it is also legal to drink an entire bottle of whiskey in one sitting. And that can kill you.
I think you get the point here. Just because it is legal and other people do it, that does not mean it is a good idea to smoke tea.
Smoking Tea: Final Thoughts
There is one benefit to smoking tea, instead of drinking it. You get a faster, and thus also stronger, caffeine rush. And that is obviously not a benefit for everyone, but only for those who want that rush.
And actually, there is a second benefit. When you smoke you tea, you don’t have to pee as much as when you drink it. Drinking tea makes you pee. Drinking tea makes you poop, too, but smoking it won’t change that.
Either way, the potential damage smoking anything does to your throat and lungs makes it absolutely not worth it. I suppose if you already smoke tobacco, adding a few tea cigarettes to the mix won’t make much of a difference.
But if you don’t smoke tobacco and you’re thinking about smoking tea for the health benefits, don’t. Just drink a nice hot cup instead, like we have been doing for thousands of years, and get the health benefits the easy way!
I’m smoking tea because I am out of tobacco and weed, and my supplies have not come in…. I live 30miles from a town.
I smoke green tea cigarettes. I have been smoking them for over a year. I used them to detox from nicotine and the process works. While I agree that not smoking
Is the best, I don’t cough constant any longer, I’m not short of breath, I smoke only 4
Or 5 a day compared to the pack of cigarettes I used to smoke each day, I don’t “crave” them and need to smoke and I don’t smell like cigarettes. For me, a pack a day smoker for 35 years, they’ve been a Godsend!
Cindy. Just started trying to quit smoking. I am a day of packed smoker. For 13 years. Pat tea cigarettes but also was smoking regular nicotine cigarettes. Went into the hospital for 3 days and decided to just not pick up cigarettes but smoke my tea cigarettes. It has been a week going good. Have a couple packs of tea cigarettes. Going to see what happens. Hopefully I can kick the nicotine. Thank you for your input towards how you got off of cigarettes.
You should try to be less strongly opinionated when you write articles, makes the whole thing not worth reading when it’s just you shitting on the idea constantly.
Completely agree. My thoughts the entire article. started to skim over rather than read.
I read an article on another site where a supposed medical professional who was supposed to be an expert in addiction said that Green Tea cigarettes wouldn’t help smokers quit because “they’re not getting a dopamine hit, which nicotine does give them”… it makes me bury my face in my hands to hear this, because MOST people with at least half a braincell know that caffeine releases dopamine, among other neurotransmitters, in a similar way to nicotine. They both work in part by antagonizing the GABA-A receptors, which leads to an increase of dopamine release.
Sure, smoking anything may not be harm free, but if people would actually research the pharmacological mechanisms of HOW Green Tea could potentially help people quit smoking cigarettes there would be more educated, balanced info out there. I for one know that when I was addicted to cigarettes, nicotine gum and patches didn’t work for me because they didn’t give me enough nicotine and they didn’t contain the beta-carboline MAOI’s that tobacco does (which enhance the dopamine effects of the nicotine).
I’ve smoked tea before. It’s not as bad as cigarettes even though smoking is bad for the lack of chemicals, nicotine and the fact that you likely don’t crave one tea cigarette after another and smoke 20-40 per day. The amount you smoke obviously makes it worse. And the problem with patches and lozanges is they still have nicotine in it, keeping your body still reliant on nicotine which often puts you back on smoking cigarettes because of that and the lack of cesation satisfaction that smoking brings. Keeping the physical feeling of a cigarette to your lips while detoxing your body of the addictive nicotine seems far more sensible. I think this writer is pushing western medicinal doctrine with out being full honest and open-minded. Yes smoking tea may not be regulated, but we know what tea is. Untill recently weed wasn’t regulated, but when have you ever heard of someone who doesn’t smoke tabacco, but smokes a ton of weed having breathing issues outside of things related to genetic health issues or certain types of jobs (miners, firefighters etc)?
By the way, if I’m missing something as I am just saying my opinion and am not a highly educated health pro, please let me know. I suppose to an extent I just didn’t like the way the author worded an opinion I disagree with and am sorry if I too was strongly worded in my opinion.
Why I am I considering smoking Tea?
I am balancing on the edge of ‘Absolute’ and ‘Relative’ poverty…..I have ran out of money 2 weeks after I got paid and still have nearly 3 weeks to go before I get paid again.
It’s Christmas time now and this time of the year is like hell for me…..I am absolutely ‘dying for’ cigarette and cannot afford to buy any.
I cannot keep asking people for tobacco or keep borrowing money to buy tobacco (most people ‘close’ to me are struggling financially themselves), so if this can ‘mimic’ smoking in some way it may calm me down a little (It’s not even the nicotine I desperately crave…..It’s the smoking itself)
If you say the risks attached to smoke tea are no greater than smoking tobacco, and I have no reason not to believe you, then I am definitely going to give it a shot.
Besides all this…I think you are well aware how we, smokers, are being used as a ‘cash-cow’ (make that ‘Tax Cow’) for governments. A pouch of tobacco, 50gr, costs £28 now…..£11.50 would I get illegal tobacco (and even that is not affordable anymore for me now that all bills are shooting up and benefits have been reduced.
I agree with part of this. It’s the repetitive motion that soothes my brain because it’s something to focus on.
I’m actually looking to start doing a cbd/thc/nicotine free herbal blend in a dry vape pen because I can do that more discreetly but still get that calming sensation that no amount of deep breathing is gonna give me.
Tea leaves actually do contain trace amounts of nicotine. When steeped, half of it doesn’t even get released, but if you smoke it I’m sure more of that nicotine is released. Is that still enough to get a buzz from it? Probably not, but I could see the possibility of smokers getting some relief by smoking tea, if trying to quit cigarettes.
you stupid and ignorant human being! some people (like my roomie) just don’t have money for cigarettes but are incredibly addicted to smoking, so they must find a way to help themselves … OBVIOUSLY!
Hahaha! I remember, I was sixteen and wanted to start smoking, as many people who I admired at that time, like Viktor Tsoi, heroes in war movies, and depressive post punk bands would often be seen with a cigarette hanging out of their mouths!
The only problem was that I had no money or connections to buy tobacco or cannabis or anything else to smoke… so I do what any dimwit sixteen year old Canadian does, I began looking around my home for what I could smoke… eventually I come across an old, old bag of loose black tea from India that had been purchased from a President’s Choice in Manitoba dog knows how long ago, and for rolling papers? I used lens tissue from my camera, which was bleached, but I was too “smart” to care.
I waited until late night, unplugged my smoke alarm, opened a window, and lit a candle… I then sat by the window and began smoking this horrific ersatz cigarette, the taste was like bootleg Lapsang Souchong black tea, it hit my throat hard, but it surprisingly didn’t make me cough, as my throat likely took all the hits so my lungs wouldn’t have to… after a couple puffs I felt a caffeine high like I have never felt before, and I realized that the smoke was blowing back in to my room… long story short, I was awake until I left my room at 10:00, either because I was terrified my parents would smell the smoke and wake me up farmboy style, or because of the caffeine I had just sucked in!
Really, it wasn’t bad at all, I’m in my early twenties now, and I’m about to try it again, with green tea this time, for old times sake, and to see if I can find a quick way to give myself energy while doing hard work.
Really, if you are generally healthy, this shouldn’t do you any more harm than a cigarette, and at that point it is really up to your family genetics whether you get cancer or not.
I generally smoke pipe and with pipe you can smoke anything you put in it. so the question came to me if tea is safe just because I wanted to try new things. additionally, I generally dont smoke to the lungs, and smoke for the taste so I dont enjoy weed or cigs but flavored cigars and especially pipe tobacco are nice. and smoking tea carries that to the next level because you have a lot of flavor options. also, since I smoke it in a pipe, I dont have to buy shady tea cigs with no clear ingredients list. I can just go and buy any tea, rip the teabags out and smoke the contained tea in it. I find its the cheapest and safest (not safe, but safer than tobacco or weed because of the lack of nicotine) way to smoke for the flavor
Very good point. If I were going to smoke tea, I would definitely do so in a pipe.
Interesting read, thanks for the info! I’m looking to smoke tea cigarettes because I want to diminish my consumption of weed. I do not smoke rigs, and weed for me has become ineffective and harder to afford. As such, I continue to smoke it moreso for the calming routine of rolling joints and the “short breaks” that it gives me throughout the day. Drinking tea would not allow me to continue that routine, but smoking it would! My conclusion is that I will definitely try smoking tea leaves and hopefully save a lot of money down the line. Thanks again!
“Knowing how dangerous smoking cigarettes is, you should know that tea is not any worse But there is no reason to believe it is any better either!”
Most retarded thing I’ve read all day.
Why not produce an article that says I have absolutely no idea what it’s like? Save everyone some time.
I love tea, but I don’t smoke it. I’m not sure how this would work out for me.
I don’t either. But it is a thing some people do.
Ik heb pas ontdekt dat kamille thee heel lekker roken is. Met en zonder wiet. Sinds roken onbetaalbaar wordt en ik niet de staatskas nog meer wil sponsoren, ga ik op zoek naar alternatieven.
De schrijver van dit artikel is te bevooroordeeld. Dah, we weten dat roken ongezond is, maar er zijn ongelooflijk meer zaken die ongezond zijn, maar wat niemand het over heeft.
Anyway, aan alle moraalridders, wat doe JIJ dat ongezond is?????