We all know about the harmful effects of smoking, therefore one must avoid smoking the herbs. The other alternate way of benefiting from the herbs is by vaporization. What is vaporization? It is the method of inhaling the active ingredients of any herb in form of vapors. The active ingredients of the herb are not burned but converted to vapor form by a device called the vaporizer. It is a safe alternative to smoking as in this method no burning of the herbs take place, thus no toxic, irritating and carcinogenic byproducts are produced. In a vaporizer, the herbal substance is heated in partial vacuum to boil off the active components into vapor.

Vaporizers are of many types but these are broadly categorized on the basis of the heating procedure they follow. These are of three types based on heating method: thermal conduction heating, convection heating and thermal radiation heating. A vaporizer using the method of conduction for heating contains a metal plate on which the herbs are placed. This plate is heated to release the vapors. The first types of vaporizers to surface in the market were these types only.

In the second type of vaporizer the herbs are not in direct contact of the heating element. In such a device, hot air stream is passed through to rapidly heat the herbs and release the active ingredients as vapors. This heating method is more efficient than conduction. The convection type vaporizers either make use of a tube or whip or a bag or balloon attachment to inhale the vapors from the vaporizer. You can also place other attachments in between the user’s mouth and the whip or bag to cool down the vapors. Most convection vaporizers are the forced air type. Today, most vaporizers in the high end range use the convection heating technology.

The third type uses the radiation heating method. In such vaporizer the herbal blend is exposed to bright light. On absorption of the radiant energy by the substance its temperature increases. Vaporizers using radiation to heat the herbs are very few but they are as efficient as the convection vaporizers. You can yourself too make a vaporizer arrangement at home using radiation mechanism. On a bright sunny day, using a pipe and a magnifying glass, you can heat your herb mixture and inhale the produced vapors. All you need is a slight practice and little care.