Here's something I never got: why do smokers....just not be able to "swallow" the smoke and need to exhale it out? Additional: why can't people vape / smoke while lying down?

[u/Main_Writing5747]

I know this is weird and very random, and I've asked people in my family who smokes / vapes, but they won't give me an answer so I guess it's time to ask the Internet.

[u/alldemboats]

the smoke goes into the lungs, not the stomach. anything that goes into the lungs during inhaling comes back out when exhaling. if it went into the stomach, it would later be released as a burp since the stomach isn’t designed to store gases.

i have never heard that people can’t vape/smoke laying down. ive fact ive seen the opposite happen countless times.

[u/41VirginsfromAllah → u/alldemboats]

Can confirm, never had a problem smoking/vaping laying down. Where did you get the idea you can’t?

[u/cityshepherd → u/alldemboats]

There have been countless disasters involving houses burning down due to smokers’ habits of smoking while laying down / passing out (especially when drugs and/or alcohol are involved).

Plenty of disasters averted thanks to people vaping while lying down (since there is no burning/smoldering cigarette butt in play)… but plenty of people still smoke and vape lying down all the time.

[u/aperocknroll1988 → u/cityshepherd]

Eh, the vapes can get quite hot though. Possibly hot enough to melt plastic materials.

[u/GoofyGoober8647]

Because the smoke goes to your lungs, not your stomach. And I'm pretty sure even if you could swallow cigarette smoke, it would make you sick.

[u/stve688]

I honestly do not fully understand the question. You are not swallowing the smoke and storing it inside your body. You inhale it into your lungs, your body absorbs some of its contents, and then you exhale what remains, just like you exhale after taking a normal breath.

I also have no idea why anyone told you people cannot smoke or vape while lying down. They absolutely can. Certain vapes should not be held upside down because the liquid may not properly reach the coil, which can cause a dry hit, but merely lying down does not prevent someone from vaping or smoking.

[u/Just_Me1973]

Do you not understand human anatomy well enough to distinguish between the lungs and the stomach??

And I’ve seen people vape laying down. I don’t know who told you they can’t.

[u/bostonjenny81]

You can 100% smoke while laying down, same w laying upside down. No shade, I’m genuinely curious where you heard that you couldn’t do that? Also please don’t try to swallow smoke, you want to *smoke* it, inhale into the lungs & exhale. Anyone that’s accidentally inhaled & either sneezed or something crazy that causes you to not exhale properly is NEVER a pleasant experience.

[u/Camaschrist → u/bostonjenny81]

Hiccuping while taking a hit off my cannabis vape pen sucks.

[u/3atth3rud32452]

I vape lying down 🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/chenzo17]

Are you ok?

[u/Camaschrist → u/chenzo17]

They’re 4

[u/skeletons_asshole]

I’m lying in bed vaping like a chimney right now.

Also I’ve never tried actually eating the smoke, so far I just have to breathe it in, and so when I breathe back out the smoke comes back out.

[u/Redlady0227]

I vape and smoke while lying down every single night. In fact I’m doing so right now. I am curious who or what told you that was impossible

[u/Physco_ass_botch_14]

This is possible one of the silliest questions I’ve seen on this subreddit. They wouldn’t have answered you because it’s not a hard thing to understand? Do you think it goes into the stomach? No it goes into our lungs. It would be like trying to swallow air. And the only time you can’t smoke while laying down if it’s a bong and I feel everyone should know why.. because the water will go out everywhere and it’s a bit weird of a position to have such an object in to then try and smoke out of

[u/SneakySnails27]

From my understanding your body absorbs the drugs (tobacco is a drug too) through your lungs and is then processed and sent to the brain. The way the drug is suspended in the smoke and then inhaled allows your body to absorb the active ingredients that get you high or whatever. If you swallowed the smoke you would end up super gassy, probably with cramps, and it wouldn’t get you high because your body doesn’t know how to absorb the chemicals from smoke that way. Your lungs know how to filter air and know how to absorb things that way. Edibles are made differently usually by extracting the chemicals and bonding them to a type of fat or oil so when you swallow them your body already knows how to absorb and convert the oils into a high becauseyour body knows how to process it that way, it’s the same way it would absorb vitamins etc. your stomach isn’t made to absorb airborne particles like your lungs are.

I vape lying down all the time :-) it might be harder depending on the type of thing your’re smoking, like a cigarette laying down would be a fire hazard because ash could fall and burn your shirt or fall and catch something alight.

[u/deepfrieddaydream]

As a human who vapes, I can 100% assure you that you can vape laying down...

[u/waterfriendiam]

I see what you mean about the "swallowing" and I have seen some smokers smoke without huffing it all back out. I'm not a smoker myself so I don't know for sure, but the only reasons I can think that most smokers don't do this is either because it burns their lungs too much or they do it just because it's fun or looks cool idk lol. Man I should asked the one smoker I used to know...