"What kind of spliff smoker are you?": What your smoking style says about you (according to science)

When a joint is passed around at a party, it quickly becomes clear that everyone has a different technique. Some take two quick, close puffs, others take a sharp drag before passing it on, and still others take one long, never-ending hit.

The Network of Applied Pharmacognosy organization wanted to understand these habits. Between September 2024 and June 2025, researchers installed flow meters on 1-gram pre-rolls during real-world sessions in five U.S. states. The result? Smokers fall into three very distinct scientific profiles. And how you hit the joint doesn't just reveal your style: it changes the amount of smoke you swallow and calls into question decades of laboratory studies.

1. The 3 Smoker Profiles: Which One Are You?

The Intense Puffer (57% of smokers) — The Playful / The Hasty

• The technique: A dry, ultra-fast inhale. The flow rate immediately skyrockets (41.7 mL/s), and the puff is completed in just 2.3 seconds. Researcher Riley Kirk compares this sensation to sucking a boba pearl through a bubble tea straw.
• Your profile: You have rhythm, you don't waste time, and you like efficiency. You pass the joint quickly to keep the group dynamic going.
• Inhaled volume: Approximately 59.3 mL of smoke per puff.

The Slow Puffer (20% of smokers) — The Contemplative / The Connoisseur

• The technique: A gentle, smooth, and steady inhale that lasts nearly 4.7 seconds (twice as long as the intense puff). The flow rate remains low (22.4 mL/s). It's the equivalent of drinking a thick milkshake with a straw.
• Your profile: You take your time, savoring the aromas, vapor, and terpenes. You seek a smooth throat hit rather than immediate impact.
• The scientific paradox: Although this inhale seems gentler, the duration means you actually inhale more smoke (72.5 mL per puff) than the intense smoker!

The Double-Hitter (23% of smokers) — The Greedy / The Passionate

• The technique: The famous "puff-puff." You take two consecutive puffs separated by a second or two, considered as a single draw event.
• Your profile: You're the smoker who gets noticed from the other side of the circle. A bit greedy, you want to make sure the cherry is well lit and the bowl is burning evenly before passing the joint.
• Inhaled volume: This is the group record with a total of 76.8 mL of smoke per session.

2. Why science has been wrong for 40 years

This study highlights a major problem in research: when a laboratory wants to analyze the composition of hemp smoke, it uses automated smoking machines. However, for decades, these machines have been set to tobacco standards (ISO and Health Canada norms), calibrated for a classic cigarette: approximately 2 seconds of inhalation for 55 mL of smoke.

However, hemp consumers do not smoke at all like cigarette smokers. All categories of cannabis smokers measured in this study exceed the standard cigarette volume (from 59.3 mL to 76.8 mL). Researchers even recorded puffs exceeding 100 mL in some participants.

By using settings designed for tobacco, scientific research has therefore underestimated the actual amount of smoke and compounds inhaled by consumers for years.

3. Ember Temperature: Next Step

The duration of inhalation and airflow directly modify the temperature of the ember at the end of the joint. A short, intense inhale does not heat the bowl in the same way as a long, progressive puff.

The research team is already preparing the next step: running these three profiles through smoking machines to analyze whether the temperature modifies the chemistry of the vapor, the preservation of terpenes, or the creation of combustion by-products. This is a matter to follow to determine which profile offers the best aromatic and health experience.