Why the Smokemiser Works

The principle behind the Smokemiser is really quite simple. It is based on the fact that we exhale the major portion of the gases we inhale.  In short, the lungs absorb little of what enters.  We can consider oxygen and extrapolate to delta nine tetrahydrocannabinol, THC.

There is a reason mouth to mouth resuscitation has a chance to be successful.  If we absorbed more than a small amount of the oxygen, mouth to mouth resuscitation would be pointless, because not enough oxygen would be available for transfer.  An average adult will inhale and exhale between 4 and 6 liters of air per minute and will absorb between 200 and 250ml of oxygen per minute.  Air is a solution of gases containing approximately 20% oxygen.  So,  that 6 liters of air that we inhale contains about 1600ml of oxygen.  Simple arithmetic yields the conclusion that we absorb roughly 15% of the oxygen that we inhale and exhale about 85%.

What then does this say about marijuana smoke absorption? If we absorb only 15% of the oxygen, does this say anything about how much marijuana smoke we absorb?  Actually, it does.  Graham's Law states that diffusion of a gas across a membrane is inversely proportional to the square root of the molecular weight of the gas.  Oxygen has a molecular weight of 32 since two oxygen atoms comprise an oxygen molecule.  THC has a molecular weight of 310.  The square roots are 5.65 and 17.6 respectively.  Oxygen crosses the pulmonary capillary membrane more than 3 times as rapidly as THC.  Each puff off of a cigarette, pipe or bong yields an average absorption of 4.81% of the amount of THC inhaled (15% * 5.65 mw of  oxygen / 17.6 mw of THC). This is clearly not an efficient method to absorb THC.

Now, let's talk about the efficiency of the Smokemiser. Remember that the grade of weed does not matter in this process. THC will cross the pulmonary capillary membrane at a rate of about 4.81% of the inhaled dose.  With each inhalation from the bag, about 4.8% will be absorbed.  After the first inhalation, 95.2% will be left in the bag.  After the second inhalation, 90.6% will remain in the bag.  Subsequent inhalations will leave a remainder as follows:  3rd - 86.2%, 4th - 82%, 5th - 78.2%, 6th - 74.4%, 7th - 70.8% . . . 10th - 61%.

People are generally more concerned with the amount of THC that is absorbed rather then the amount they exhale.  After all, it is the THC that you absorb that makes you high.  The cumulative amount of THC that is aborbed when using a Smokemiser is illustrated by Figure 1a.

Wow!  That is quite a dramatic increase in the amount of THC absorbed when using the Smokemiser rather than other forms of inhalation.  Compare the 4.81% of THC absorbed through one puff off a cigarette, pipe, or bong to the 38.85% absorbed after that same puff rebreathed 10 times on the Smokemiser.

However, the models in Figure 1 and  1a assumes that you are rebreathing only the air in the bag.  This is NOT a good idea.  As you are absorbing the THC that is in the bag, you are also absorbing the oxygen in the bag.  As oxygen is more readily absorbed than THC, the oxygen runs out much more quickly. So it's important to take a fresh breath of air from time to time. The dilutional effect of pulmonary dead space has to be considered.

Each time you break from the bag to breathe fresh air, the contents of the bag will be diluted by the amount of pulmonary dead space you have. Depending on the size of your body, this will be between 100 and 150ml.  The Smokemiser bag contains about 2 liters.  So each time you take a break to breathe fresh air, you will decease the percentage of  THC in the bag by about 7.5%.  Following the math (% THC in bag * .952 {pulmonary absorption} * .925 {loss due to dead space} =  percentage THC left in bag), Figure 2 shows the percentage of THC that remains in the bag if a breath of fresh air is taken after each breath taken on the Smokemiser.

Again, let's look at the amount of THC absorbed using this method of taking a fresh breath after each breath on the Smokemiser. See Figure 2a.

Comparing the two methods of using the Smokemiser, clearly the first method is more efficacious.  However, it is not for the reasons stated above a desirable method.  How, then, to use the Smokemiser most efficiently?  After considerable research, the following method has rendered the greatest effect:

Breathe in and out deeply five times before lighting the Smokemiser. After lighting, inhale and exhale into the bag 10 times.  Take a fresh breath off the Smokemiser and repeat.  This method will insure the results wanted in the shortest amount of time.  See Figure 3 for THC absorption.

Using the Smokemiser is like buying an ounce and getting more than ½ pound thrown in for free! Bet you haven't had a deal like that lately! Without the Smokemiser, almost all of the THC you inhale is gone with your wind.  This is how the Smokemiser works to save you money. You will use a lot less weed to gain the effect desired.