4 Ingredients to Avoid When Searching for Rolling Paper
4 Ingredients to Avoid When Searching for Rolling Paper
The quality of your rolling paper can significantly impact the taste of your smoke and how healthy or unhealthy it may be. Unfortunately, some rolling papers are contaminated with ingredients that can be toxic and harmful to you. The good news is that once you're familiar with these ingredients, you'll be able to avoid products that contain them. In the future, you can use higher-quality rolling papers that will give you a better overall smoking experience, such as our product line here at Empire Rolling. With toxic ingredients being so prevalent, let's look at the four worst elements you should try to avoid when buying rolling paper.
Arsenic
Arsenic is a heavy metal and is one of the worst contaminants found in rolling paper. Even if you're not familiar with the science behind this, you have likely heard that arsenic is a form of poison. Unfortunately, this is true, meaning that arsenic contamination is a big problem for rolling papers. Even though arsenic can be used as a poison, it is a naturally occurring element found in rocks, soil, and other minerals. It can be found naturally in plants and animals in minimal quantities. Consumers should note that there are multiple forms of arsenic and its inorganic form is the highly toxic one. Arsenic contamination in rolling paper and other products happens when agricultural chemicals come into contact with plants used to manufacture consumer goods. This combination can also occur when arsenic is used as a wood preservative in pharmaceuticals, mining, glass making, and semiconductor production. In any case, any rolling paper that has been contaminated with arsenic should be avoided. Exposure to even small amounts of inorganic arsenic can cause various health problems such as skin lesions, cancer, nausea, and vomiting in the long term.
Mercury
Thanks to improper waste disposal, mercury has gotten into the environment and has contaminated many different products. Unfortunately, this applies to rolling paper as well. As with arsenic, you likely know that mercury is a highly toxic substance that can be fatal in even small amounts. This means that avoiding rolling papers that contain mercury is a big deal, especially if you smoke a lot. One way of thinking about this is to compare it to the mercury content in fish. Some fish, like tuna, have a modest amount of mercury and health experts recommend limiting your consumption of these types of fish to avoid health problems. However, just like eating too many fish with moderate mercury content can be bad for you, smoking with rolling paper that has mercury contamination too often can also have adverse side effects. Mercury tends to affect the nervous system and can cause various neurological problems such as headaches, insomnia, memory loss, and even emotional instability. In addition, long-term exposure to even trace amounts of mercury can build up and cause health problems, so it's essential to avoid it as much as possible.
Lead
As with the previous two toxic substances, you probably know that exposure to lead can lead to lead poisoning. Lead is more dangerous, though, since the build-up can take place over months or even years before you feel the effects. According to the SC Labs study, lead has been found in many rolling papers. This makes it very important to take note of the piece you're buying and make sure that your paper is free of lead contamination. As with mercury, long-term exposure to even small amounts of lead can cause various health problems. Also of note is that chronic lead poisoning can take years to recover from. Symptoms of chronic lead poisoning include nausea, muscle weakness, depression, anemia, memory loss, mood disorders, and more. Acute lead poisoning is much more severe and will likely lead to hospitalization but is very unlikely to happen from smoking due to how small the amounts are.
Cadmium
Cadmium is the outlier here since not as many people are familiar with it and don't understand why it's dangerous. However, like the other three heavy metals, cadmium has been found in rolling paper and should be avoided as much as possible. Cadmium is a naturally occurring metal and combines with other elements such as oxygen, sulfur, and chlorine. Foods are the most significant source of cadmium exposure for most people who don't smoke. However, cadmium exposure is a much bigger deal for people who smoke and is something they should pay attention to. Breathing in cadmium can cause various negative symptoms such as nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Detecting high amounts of cadmium in your system is typically done through hair tests, blood tests, or urine tests. Unfortunately, there is no treatment for cadmium toxicity. Instead, your symptoms will have to be treated on their own. This means that avoiding rolling paper contaminated with cadmium is extremely important.
Which Products Contain Toxic Ingredients?
To give you a general idea of which products tend to have harmful chemicals and ingredients, let's take a look at the research done by SC Labs that we've been mentioning. This study revealed several toxic substances in many of the most popular smoking products. This includes the following:
- Wraps
- Rolling Papers
- Cellulose Rolling Papers
- Cones
Testing facilities bought the products used for the study from Amazon and the Santa Cruz area smoke shops. Despite this limited sample size, it is not unreasonable to think that rolling paper manufactured in other areas also contains contamination. This is because improper waste management and insecticide use are widespread problems that affect the entire planet. The good news is that some brands of rolling paper, such as ours, go to great lengths to avoid contamination so that you can enjoy your smokes with peace of mind.
Which Products Are The Worst?
Another interesting find from the SC Labs study is that cellulose rolling papers are the worst when it comes to contamination. In fact, in some cases, the amount of lead present was a thousand times greater than the recommended inhalable limit. So while smoking with cellulose rolling paper won't instantly kill you or make you sick, long-term exposure can be worrying, especially for heavy smokers. Since cellulose was the biggest offender on the list, companies considered organic alternatives to see if they were any better. But unfortunately, most contain nicotine which can cause cancer. This, combined with the fact that cannabis smoking hasn't been studied as in-depth as cigarette smoking, raises some interesting questions about how often one should smoke cannabis. In any case, smoking with healthier rolling paper is a big step in the right direction and can help curb or eliminate the risk of chronic health problems that arise from exposure to toxic substances.
What to Do If You've Smoked Contaminated Rolling Paper
The first thing you should remember is that smoking contaminated rolling paper isn't going to kill you or send you to the hospital instantly. So there is no need to panic over this. You aren't likely to get acute poisoning from contaminated rolling paper since the amounts of the heavy metals found in them are minimal. Instead, what you have to be wary of is chronic poisoning, which builds up over time. While this may sound like it's not a big deal, be aware that chronic poisoning can be complicated to treat and, in some cases, may never go away. In addition, the damage that heavy metals do to your body can add up and give you life-altering health problems. The best thing you can do if you've been smoking contaminated rolling paper is to limit your smoking, especially in the long term, or find a rolling paper free of pesticide and heavy metal contamination. This is extremely important for heavy smokers, and it will also help casual smokers avoid the health problems that can result from chronic poisoning over long periods as well.
We Take the Health of Our Customers Very Seriously
Here at Empire Rolling, your health is our top concern. So our rolling papers are manufactured to make them free of pesticide and heavy metal contamination. This allows you to enjoy your smokes while having peace of mind. You can also share guilt-free with your friends since you're not encouraging them to smoke products containing toxic substances. If you love rolling your smokes, look at our rolling paper collections. You'll find various colorful and fun options that will help you take your smoking to the next level. We also sell wholesale, offering great prices and eye-catching displays that will help you make a great return on your investment. We also have an extensive influencer network to help get the word out and promote our products.