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Paraphernalia Joints and cardboard filters. Safe enough?

4meSM

4meSM

Bluelighter
Joined
Jan 6, 2014
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Smoking plant matter is of course bad for the health, many hazardous chemicals are produced during the combustion process. But this is fairly well known so let's put it aside for a moment.


What about cardboard filters?
I'm not very familiar with the process for making cardboard, but I'm pretty sure they contain adhesives and some kind of coating, at the very least. It's clearly not a product intended for human consumption and it isn't supposed to be exposed to high temperatures either.

You can buy branded cardboard filter tips (which are probably safer), but most joint smokers like myself will use whatever is available to make the filter (cig pack, business card, a box of lipton tea, etc...). Many of those materials have different types of ink and a bunch of other stuff in/on them.

So what do you guys think? If anyone has any info on this subject please share it.
I wasn't able to find anything worthwhile online, but I wouldn't be too surprised if those handmade filters released "small" quantities of toxic substances.

I wonder if using cardboard filters could actually cause serious consequences to our health, eventually (if you're a daily smoker).
For example, nowadays we know for sure that tin cans and water bottles can leach heavy metals and extremely toxic chemicals. And those are wayyy more heavily regulated, since they're supposed to store the food we eat and the liquids we drink.

For context, tons of people roll their joints/spliffs with a filter, most commonly a piece of cardboard. Obviously the purpose of a cardboard "filter" is not to filter the smoke but to make the joint easier to roll, handle and smoke (it's pretty much better in every way).
 
I would rec the RAW papers that come with perforated tips also in the pack. I believe those are made entirely from hemp
 
thegreenhand said:
I would rec the RAW papers that come with perforated tips also in the pack. I believe those are made entirely from hemp
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Yeah they're not bad, I actually had a pack of raw tips but I ran out like a month ago and couldn't be bothered to buy more.

They're advertised as unbleached, vegan and chemical free. Not sure if it actually means anything... At least they're not bleached I guess, though the fact that a filter tip doesn't contain animal products is irrelevant. And chemical free? Seems like a classic example of misleading advertising.
I wonder if they're really all that different from a classic hand-made filter tip.
I guess we'll have to take their word for it.
 
you don't smoke the filter/tip. and they are made from card stock. not like a card board box.
 
I've used all sorts of shit as a crutch. My cigarette packs are usually ripped to pieces for rolling spliffs rather than just buying the cardboard tips raw makes
 
Zephyn said:
I've used all sorts of shit as a crutch. My cigarette packs are usually ripped to pieces for rolling spliffs rather than just buying the cardboard tips raw makes
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Yeah that's what I mean, I usually do the same. The last thing people think about while smoking a joint is the crutch, it seems irrelevant as long as it serves its purpose. So I realize this is a pretty odd question to most people.

Not too long ago I was making a crutch from a piece of a pack of cigs, when I randomly noticed that it released tiny white particles if you handled it poorly and exposed the middle part which contains the adhesive. I only noticed the tiny particles because it was night-time and I was using my phone light, otherwise they're hard to see in a well lighted room.

Again, I know it might seem irrelevant, but I know some stuff and have read articles about similar topics to know that some respirable particles can be much worse than they seem.
It just got me thinking about it, that's all. I'm pretty sure those small but visible particles are no big deal, the main concern are the ones that are too small for us to see.

On a similar note, tiny pieces of cigarette filters (those are made from cellulose acetate) have been found in many lung cancer victims. Of course tobacco can cause cancer on its own, but AFAIK there is at least some evidence indicating that those tiny filter fibers could contribute to lung cancer and other diseases.
 
4meSM said:
Yeah that's what I mean, I usually do the same. The last thing people think about while smoking a joint is the crutch, it seems irrelevant as long as it serves its purpose. So I realize this is a pretty odd question to most people.

Not too long ago I was making a crutch from a piece of a pack of cigs, when I randomly noticed that it released tiny white particles if you handled it poorly and exposed the middle part which contains the adhesive. I only noticed the tiny particles because it was night-time and I was using my phone light, otherwise they're hard to see in a well lighted room.

Again, I know it might seem irrelevant, but I know some stuff and have read articles about similar topics to know that some respirable particles can be much worse than they seem.
It just got me thinking about it, that's all. I'm pretty sure those small but visible particles are no big deal, the main concern are the ones that are too small for us to see.

On a similar note, tiny pieces of cigarette filters (those are made from cellulose acetate) have been found in many lung cancer victims. Of course tobacco can cause cancer on its own, but AFAIK there is at least some evidence indicating that those tiny filter fibers could contribute to lung cancer and other diseases.
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Its probably pointless as far as actual filtration goes, but it makes the joint more easily smokeless and stable in its body
 
However, I have made a little crutch and blown pure tobacco smoke into it directly and after just a few puffs it does leave quite a bit of tar residue.
 
dabman said:
you don't smoke the filter/tip. and they are made from card stock. not like a card board box.
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I know but you're inhaling hot smoke through it.
The temperature is probably hot enough to degrade some of the adhesive and volatilize whatever else is in there (ink, random particles, etc...).

Is commercial cardstock very different from cardboard? I don't really know how it's made, I'm guessing it involves sticking a bunch of small wood fibers together and adding some kind of ink?

It's probably no big deal but, at the same time, some brands sell supposedly organic and "clean" filter tips at a premium price (compared a random piece of cardboard).
I wonder, is there a reason to buy premium filter tips when you can make a crutch instead?


In my previous comment I mentioned cigarette filters, those are completely different since they're actually supposed to filter the smoke, and they're pretty well made.
When you finish smoking the cigarette the filter stays pretty much intact right? (besides turning yellow and disgusting due to the tar).
It certainly doesn't seem to release any kind of particles, yet microscopic fibers have been found in the lungs of many smokers.
How did those fibers get into the lungs if you don't actually burn the filter?
Well, passing hot smoke through the filter actually starts to break down the material and tiny fibers get detached in the process. Those fibers (and other breakdown products) are then inhaled along with the smoke.
 
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4meSM said:
I know but you're inhaling hot smoke through it.
The temperature is probably hot enough to degrade some of the adhesive and volatilize whatever else is in there (ink, random particles, etc...).
It's probably no big deal but, at the same time, some brands sell supposedly organic and "clean" filter tips at a premium price (compared a random piece of cardboard).
I wonder, is there a reason to buy premium filter tips when you can make a crutch instead?



In my previous comment I mentioned cigarette filters, those are completely different since they're actually supposed to filter the smoke, and they're pretty well made.
When you finish smoking the cigarette the filter stays pretty much intact right? (besides turning yellow and disgusting due to the tar).
It certainly doesn't seem to release any kind of particles, yet microscopic fibers have been found in the lungs of many smokers.

How did those fibers get into the lungs if you don't actually burn the filter?
Well, passing hot smoke through the filter actually starts to break down the material and tiny fibers get detached in the process. Those fibers (and other breakdown products) are then inhaled along with the smoke.
Click to expand...
Still, with how much I see on a cardboard filter I blow a few hits of cig thru I think its probably healthier to have the filter. Maybe not made from fiberglass, but a filter nonetheless.
 
most of the legal pre-roll’s I’ve seen in Canada have a RAW stamp, so either un bleached hemp or some kind of unprocessed paper..

Zephyr; I have an anodized metal bat and you stuff these little cotton filters in one end for a filtered (somewhat) one hit. I don’t like anything other than a rolled filter and snub the joint out before I start smoking the filter.

Tom.
 
Thomas Davie said:
most of the legal pre-roll’s I’ve seen in Canada have a RAW stamp, so either un bleached hemp or some kind of unprocessed paper..

Zephyr; I have an anodized metal bat and you stuff these little cotton filters in one end for a filtered (somewhat) one hit. I don’t like anything other than a rolled filter and snub the joint out before I start smoking the filter.

Tom.
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My dad has a little bat one hitter with a dugout for it, I love it. its from his college days back in the 80s. It’d be even better with a filter like that!
 
Thomas Davie said:
most of the legal pre-roll’s I’ve seen in Canada have a RAW stamp, so either un bleached hemp or some kind of unprocessed paper..
Click to expand...
That's pretty interesting. Do you think they're required by law to use unprocessed paper/cardstock ?
Are those legal joints rolled with unbleached papers as well?

Intuitively, it makes perfect sense to use some kind of unrefined material, I just wonder if there's something more to it.
 
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