Smoking Cloves - Benefits, Risks and Critical Information

Smoking Cloves - Benefits, Risks and Critical Information - SPLIFF

Can I smoke Cloves Cigarettes?

Anything that uses tobacco and nicotine is unhealthy and harmful to our health. Clove cigarettes, commonly known as kreteks, are now most commonly used as they are considered natural. But they are more harmful as they contain additives and tobacco products inside them.   

A better option if you are looking to quit smoking tobacco or kreteks, would be to switch to herbal smoking blends that contain herbs like passionflowerdamianabutterfly pea or skullcap.

Many people question whether they can smoke cloves cigarettes or not. Well, they are more harmful than regular cigarettes, but before we tell you about clove cigarettes, we will first tell you about cloves! Cloves are a reddish-brown, commonly used spike-like spice. It comes from a clove tree which is an evergreen plant, and its scientific name is Syzygium aromaticum.

Cloves are used for cooking, and many people add them to their food as spices. Additionally, they have certain health benefits. Similarly, they are used as herbal medicine. You can also generate clove oil that is used for massage.

The main origin of clove is Indonesia. There are Spice Islands in Indonesia from where it is believed that cloves originated. Spices Islands are also known as Mollucas. Not only in Indonesia, but cloves are also found worldwide now. 

Photo from Journal des Femmes

What are the effects of clove?

Cloves are rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and many other useful substances. Many healthcare professionals recommend taking cloves because of the positive effects. They are also recommended for gums and tooth pain because of their anesthetic nature. Additionally, they help reduce throat pain and bronchitis. 

What is Cloves Cigarettes?

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Clove cigarettes are thin-shaped cigarettes that are also known as kreteks. Cloves, tobacco, and other ingredients are used to make the kreteks. Clove cigarettes contain not only nicotine but also numerous cancer-causing toxins that are hazardous to both smokers and nonsmokers.  

Clove cigarettes are typically composed of clove oil, 60% to 80% tobacco, and almost 20% to 40% ground clove buds. Other substances such as cinnamon, cumin, and nutmeg are sometimes added. They also contain nicotine, carbon monoxide and a bit of tar exposure, and eugenol exposure.

Considering public health, clove cigarettes were banned by the US government by the family smoking prevention and tobacco control act. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prohibited the sale of fruit-flavored, candy-flavored, and clove-flavored cigarettes in September 2009. Kretek International developed and marketed the Djarum clove cigar to replace their popular clove cigarettes in disclaimer to the FDA ban.

 

Are cloves okay to smoke?  

Clove cigarettes, hookah, menthol cigarettes, and e-cigarettes are considered cool. Even children in high school and young adults smoke them as they seem to be okay. However, they are not recommended to smoke. Clove cigarettes are not a healthy smoking substitute as they can cause respiratory infections to lung cancer in both elderly and young people.

According to studies done by toxicology departments, clove cigarettes are unsafe. Such lit burned and inhaled components endanger sensitive lung tissue and other organs. They are more dangerous than conventional cigarettes.

With that said, we still feel like we need to reiterate that smoking anything is harmful to your health. You should always consult your doctor prior to trying anything new.

What happens when you smoke cloves?

Clove cigarette smoking can cause hemoptysis, bronchitis, hemorrhagic pulmonary edema, and pneumonia. Tobacco use can lead to nicotine addiction and lung cancer, and other lung conditions.

The numbing effect allows the user to inhale more deeply and longer than traditional cigarettes. In fact, some traditional cigarettes contain eugenol to numb the throat against the harsh effects of tobacco. 

Is smoking cloves worse than cigarettes?

Many people believe that inhaling clove cigarettes is better than smoking traditional cigarettes. However, this is a harmful tobacco product that poses the same health risks as cigarettes. Clove cigarettes, in fact, have been shown to contain more carbon monoxide, nicotine, and tar than regular cigarettes.

According to a fact sheet by WHO, 8 million people die because of tobacco. While inhaling clove cigarettes may be a harsh reality, the truth is that they are just as potentially harmful and addictive to one’s health as regular cigarettes. So they are banned in most countries. Quitting a habit that you enjoy, especially one that is easily addictive, can be difficult on your own. Natural herbal smoking blends are always a better option than smoking cigarettes of any kind, as they are nicotine-free and a bit healthier. 

The use of clove cigarettes can lead to nicotine addiction, as well as lung cancer and other lung conditions. Other conditions include diarrhea, abdominal pain, blood-streaked sputum, angina, bronchospasm, and chronic cough. 

Difference between clove oils and clove cigarettes on the health effect

Clove oils are used for treating many issues in human bodies. But if you intake them in high amounts, they can become injurious. We absolutely do not recommend inhaling clove oil through a vaporizer, ever. Liver damage, fluid imbalances, and seizures can all result from even small amounts of clove oil. Clove oil contains a chemical called eugenol, which appears to slow blood clotting. Clove oil may cause bleeding in people who have bleeding disorders. But they have fewer side effects as compared to clove cigarettes.

Clove and other substances 

Photo by Asep Syaeful Bahri from Pexels

Tobacco cigarettes have 3 main ingredients tobacco, nicotine, and tar. At the same time, clove cigarettes have cloves and tobacco as the main ingredients. Additionally, clove cigarettes generate eugenol, which is an anesthetic.

Clove cigarettes are a blend of several herbs, nicotine, carbon monoxide, tobacco, etc. The herbs that clove cigarettes mainly contain are Red Clover Flowers and Marshmallow Leaves. The flavours are also added to clove cigarettes to taste and smell better.

What is the difference between smoking cloves cigarettes and smoking cannabis?

Cannabis and clove cigarettes use is common, and people may be exposed to higher levels of toxins. There have been no studies that compare biomarkers of toxicant exposure in cannabis and clove cigarette users to cigarette smokers. But according to many studies, smoking cloves cigarettes cause a high risk to health.

Cannabis generates an excessive amount of dopamine that makes a person happy for a time. Still, there are no such DOI studies that show it causes lung injury, heart disease, and other pulmonary diseases.

Conclusion - Can I Smoke Clove Cigarettes Safely?

If you want to protect the respiratory tract, then you must quit smoking. CDC researched clove cigarettes and showed results that they are not only toxic but also deadly. No cigarette is safe for you as they contain tar, tobacco, nicotine, and many other additives that can cause a mild sore throat to pulmonary cancer. Do not smoke clove cigarettes if you want a safe and healthy life.

As part of your switch from smoking pure Green or smoking tobacco to including herbal smoking blends in your next spliff, you may find that smoking Damiana or smoking Raspberry Leaf may also suit you as base smokable herbs. 


*This article is not to be interpreted as a statement of any form by Spliff but merely a compendium of information compiled from other sources. These statements have not been evaluated by Health Canada, FDA or any other regulatory body. Consult your doctor before ingesting or smoking any herbal product.*

 
If you have any valuable information to add or a correction to address, please reach out to a member of our team at info@spliffherbals.com

WANNA LEARN MORE ABOUT CLOVES? BROWSE OUR SOURCES BELOW!   

Lawrence, S. (2004). Competing with kreteks: transnational tobacco companies, globalisation, and Indonesia. Tobacco Control, 13(suppl_2), ii96–ii103.

‌Soldz, S., & Dorsey, E. (2005). Youth Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Alternative Tobacco Products: Cigars, Bidis, and Kreteks. Health Education & Behavior, 32(4), 549–566. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198105276219

‌Nuryunarsih, D., Lewis, S., & Langley, T. (2021). Health risks of kretek cigarettes: A systematic review. Nicotine & Tobacco Research. https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/ntab016

‌Polzin, G. M., Stanfill, S. B., Brown, C. R., Ashley, D. L., & Watson, C. H. (2007). Determination of eugenol, anethole, and coumarin in the mainstream cigarette smoke of Indonesian clove cigarettes. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 45(10), 1948–1953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2007.04.012

‌McGrady, B., & Jones, A. (2013). Tobacco Control and Beyond: The Broader Implications of United States—Clove Cigarettes for Non-Communicable Diseases. American Journal of Law & Medicine, 39(2-3), 265–289. https://doi.org/10.1177/009885881303900204

‌Guidotti, T. L., & Laing, L. (1992). Clove cigarettes. The Western Journal of Medicine, 156(5), 537–538. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1003320/

‌LaVoie, E. J., Adams, J. D., Reinhardt, J., Rivenson, A., & Hoffmann, D. (1986). Toxicity studies on clove cigarette smoke and constituents of clove: determination of the LD50 of eugenol by intratracheal instillation in rats and hamsters. Archives of Toxicology, 59(2), 78–81. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00286727

‌Singletary, K. (2014). Clove. Nutrition Today, 49(4), 207–224. https://doi.org/10.1097/nt.0000000000000036

‌Jessica Elizabeth, D. L. T., Gassara, F., Kouassi, A. P., Brar, S. K., & Belkacemi, K. (2015). Spice use in food: Properties and benefits. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 57(6), 1078–1088. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2013.858235

‌CDCTobaccoFree. (2018, August 14). Bidis and Kreteks. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/tobacco_industry/bidis_kreteks/index.htm

‌World Health Organization. (2021, July 26). Tobacco. Who.int; World Health Organization: WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tobacco

Are clove cigarettes as bad as regular cigarettes? | Go Ask Alice! (n.d.). Goaskalice.columbia.edu. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://goaskalice.columbia.edu/answered-questions/are-clove-cigarettes-bad-regular-cigarettes



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