Weed vs Cigarettes: Which Is Worse For Your Body

People who smoke weed love to compare it to cigarettes and say stuff like, “Hey, at least it’s not as bad as tobacco”. Honestly, that claim doesn’t hold up super well. First of all, weed and cigarettes are very different substances that have exceedingly different effects on the body and mind. Smoking either of them can have similar kinds of adverse effects on your organs. While the effects of smoking a cigarette are well known to everybody, there is still some light shedding left to do on the effects of smoking weed. In this article, we will do exactly that by doing a brief Weed vs Cigarettes comparison and try to answer questions like, do weed and cigarettes have the same effect, and are weed and cigarettes the same?

What’s The Difference Between Weed And Cigarettes?

The difference between weed and cigarettes is quite simple. People on the streets gave marijuana the name weed, a psychoactive drug that is made from the dried flowers, seeds, leaves, and stems of the weed plant called Cannabis Sativa. It contains a bunch of chemical compounds called cannabinoids. People roll it into joints, pack it in pipes or bongs, whatever works to inhale the smoke. Whereas Cigarettes are fine cut dried up leaves from the tobacco plant rolled up into paper with hundreds of chemical additives. When it burns, it produces a lot of chemicals, about 70 of which are known to have cancer-causing properties. Nicotine is the super-addictive part that keeps people hooked.

A Table comparison between – Weed Vs Cigarettes

To make you better understand weed and cigarettes difference, here is a table comparison for you:

Features	Weed (Marijuana)	Cigarettes (Tobacco)
Made From	Cannabis Sativa plant	Nicotiana Tabacum plant
Main Component	THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol)	Nicotine
Addiction Potential	Moderate	Very high
Cancer Risk	Possibly risky	Causes multiple organ cancer
Symptoms Of Withdrawal	Insomnia, irritability,  mood swings	Cravings, anxiety, fatigue
Legal Status	Legal in some regions	Legal in most countries
Secondhand Smoke	May harm nearby people	Is harmful to others nearby

How Do Weed & Cigarettes Ruin Your Health?

There’s solid evidence that both Cigarettes and weed can hurt you, especially if you’re doing it regularly. They hit the heart, lungs, and brain differently, but neither of them is “safe.”

How does weed affect your organs?

Weed can spike your heart rate and blood pressure pretty sharply right after you smoke, sometimes leading to irregular rhythms or extra stress on the heart, especially if you’ve already got issues. Smoking weed damages your lungs big time. Coughing, wheezing, extra mucus, and chronic bronchitis are very common if you’re a regular user. The THC present in weed is what gets you high. This also affects the part of your brain that is responsible for memory, coordination, decision-making, and reaction time. Frequent use often leads to memory issues, a shorter attention span, and impaired cognitive function.

How do Cigarettes affect your organs?

Cigarettes can be more dangerous because the nicotine present in them can tighten up the blood vessels, which will increase your chances of having a stroke or a heart attack. It’s Smoke contains thousands of toxic chemicals, including carbon monoxide and tar. Long-term? It leads to COPD, emphysema, and lung cancer way more often. The nicotine present in it floods your brain with dopamine, making you feel good until you’re dependent. Quitting can crank up anxiety and mess with your mood hard.

Which Is More Addictive? Weed Or Cigarettes

If we are doing a weed vs cigarettes only on the basis of addictiveness, nicotine is considered way more addictive than marijuana. Nicotine reaches the brain within seconds and releases dopamine, which is bound to get you addicted to it. People who are addicted to nicotine generally smoke multiple times a day. Weed or cannabis is also an addictive substance due to its mood and perception-altering effects, and many users often wonder how long weed can stay in your system because of how it affects the body over time, but it is considered much less physically addictive than nicotine. So, Cigarettes are more addictive than weed.
Though one is less addictive than the other, both can cause some serious withdrawal effects if tried to stop.

Withdrawal Effects Of Weed & Cigarettes

If you are trying to quit smoking, then you are on the right path, but the right path is often more difficult to walk on. Trying to quit either of the two will always come with some withdrawal effects, especially when it’s been a long time doing it.

Withdrawal effects of weed:

• Irritability
• Mood swings
• Anxiety
• Can’t fall asleep
• Much less hunger
• Headaches
• Restlessness
• Bad dreams

These effects may start from the very day you try to quit, and they can last up to a few weeks.

Withdrawal effects of Cigarettes:

• Craving intensely
• Constantly frustrated
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Difficulty concentrating
• Hungry all the time
• Fatigue
• Can’t fall asleep

These symptoms can start just a few hours after you stop smoking, and it keeps getting worse for the first 2 weeks. This is the time when cravings will be at their absolute peak. These symptoms can last for a few weeks to a month for some people. At this time, remember, persistence is the key.

Which Is Worse Weed Or Cigarettes?

Both burn and produce toxic smoke that hits your lungs with carcinogens and irritants. Cigarettes are linked to way more cancers (lung, throat, mouth, bladder, you name it) and are a top cause of cancer worldwide. Weed’s cancer connection isn’t proven as strongly. Some studies show no big link to lung cancer, others suggest risks from the smoke’s toxins, but it’s often smoked less frequently and without nicotine’s addictive push. Well, being “less harmful” doesn’t make it all safe. Weed smoke still inflames lungs, causes bronchitis-like symptoms, and can damage airways. If you’re smoking a lot, you’re not dodging risks entirely, and if you are addicted by any chance, give weed (marijuana) Addiction treatments a try.

What To Do If You Are Addicted to Weed and Cigarettes?

Life can get miserable if you are addicted to either of the two, and people who are addicted often try mixing weed and cigarettes, or they even use weed and alcohol together, just to experience even bigger highs, which is an even worse idea. Some even get caught up in debates like weed vs alcohol, trying to figure out which one is worse, without realizing that combining these substances only increases the risks. But if you are looking for a way out, then you should know that the only way out is persistence. Go cold turkey on it, face the withdrawals, and don’t cave in to the cravings. Going for professional help and asking questions like how to quit smoking weed and cigarettes in these scenarios is always the best option. There are many ways that doctors use to make the journey smoother for you; therapy is one of them

FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions

How to quit smoking weed and cigarettes?
Pick a date, throw out everything. Expect strong cravings first couple of weeks. Keep yourself busy with stuff to keep your mind off the cravings, nicotine gum, and exercise. A nicotine patch can help you. Ask some close ones for support.

Is weed and cigarettes the same?
No, not really. Even though they are both used for the same purpose of getting high, they are not the same thing.

Why are cigarettes legal and not weed?
Cigarettes got very famous early, before their harms were known, people made big industries, and those industries generated tax revenue. Weed faced bans later from politics, not just science.

Is smoking weed and cigarettes when pregnant considered harmful?
Smoking while you are pregnant is just cruel to the baby. You are basically cutting off the oxygen supply to the baby, which will affect the baby’s growth and can easily cause complications like premature delivery or stillbirth.

Weed and cigarettes which is more dangerous?
Cigarettes are usually more dangerous. stronger links to cancers, heart disease, and COPD. Weed has some real risks too, but less studied, and people don’t use it as heavily

What’s worse for lungs weed or cigarettes?
Cigarettes are without a doubt, the worst thing for your lungs. It has a lot of harmful chemicals, including tar and carcinogens that can destroy your lungs. It is also a major cause of lung cancer, COPD, and emphysema. Weed irritates and causes bronchitis, but the cancer link is weaker.

What smells worse weed or cigarettes?
Both odors are bad. Weed’s smell clears out fast, while cigarette smell lingers longer and sticks to everything, like your mouth, clothes, hair, and so on.

Conclusion

So, between weed and cigarettes which is better? The two are completely different things with similar effects; both are used by people to get a temporary high, and both are risky when used over a long time. Cigarettes may carry more life-threatening risks than weed, but weed is by no means a better, more safe option.