We use cookies for certain features and to improve your experience. See our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy to learn more

Leafly

Shop legal, local weed.

Open
advertise on Leafly
ShopDeliveryDispensariesDealsStrainsBrandsProductsCBDDoctorsCannabis 101Social impact
  • Sign in
  • Create account
  • Strains
  • Shop
  • Shop
  • Delivery
  • Deals
  • Dispensaries
  • CBD Stores
  • Brands
  • Products
  • Learn
  • Cannabis 101
  • News
  • Leafly Learn
  • Science of cannabis
  • Doctors
  • Social impact
  • Lab partners
  • Download the Leafly App
  • Advertise on Leafly
    • Leafly.comUSA flag
    • Leafly.caCanadian flag
    • Leafly.deGerman flag
  • Help
  • News
  • Lifestyle
  • Strains & products
  • Industry
  • Growing
  • Health
  • Science & tech
  • Leafly USA
  • Podcasts
  • Learn
CanadaScience & tech

Why doesn’t the scent of cannabis linger?

Katarina KostovicPublished on July 3, 2019 · Last updated July 28, 2020
smoke joint
Bilgehan Tuzcu/Matej Zukovic/iStock

The Juul frenzy—apart from the delivery of a jaw-jittering amount of nicotine—has another, less defined advantage. It smells nice.

Smokers and non-smokers alike can agree that the smell of cigarettes plagues us all. Combustion of any item, whether firewood, a cigarette, or cannabis, carries with it a distinguishing smell.
Join the Leafly Canada CommunityThe cologne of l’eau-de-la forêt has the ability to cling to clothing even after multiple washes; days later, we reminisce of the burnt marshmallows, crickets, and flickering bonfires when we smell our favourite sweater.

The smell of cigarettes slickly torment a few smokers. Their smell, when accumulated, leaves a mark that seems to jump smartly corner to corner once it feels the threat of Febreze.

How Does the Scent of Cannabis Differ From Tobacco?

The smell of cannabis, sometimes akin to a skunk, so permeates a space to leave the consumer with the impression that it’s moved in with its feet already on the coffee table. And yet, miraculously, an open window can gallantly shoo the smell while a hot running shower can, with its vapour, not only shroud it altogether, but make as if it never was.

Smell is fickle. A slight change of chemistry can produce not only an unrecognizable smell but also determine how sticky that smell will be. In chemistry, things that are alike stick together: the more concentrated the packs the higher the likelihood that they can linger.

Judging by first impressions, the layman would assume cannabis would outdo tobacco in the race to smell. Innocently stationary, cannabis turns heads as its potent smell envelopes a space. Tobacco does not.
The smell arises from the vaporization of terpenes from the cannabis plant: terpenes are volatile hydrocarbons.

Smoked cannabis and tobacco do not differ immensely from the compounds they emit when combusted, despite some folklore. Agreeably, organically grown cannabis does not contain some of the more frightening additives of cigarettes. For example, acrolein (or tear gas), is found in cigarettes to increase the availability of nicotine.

Formaldehyde and nitrosamines are two compounds that are present in high amounts in cigarette smoke, not cannabis. Have you ever smelled formaldehyde? Indeed, a flashbulb memory of a suffocating odour would certainly come to mind. Nitrosamines are some of the stinkiest compounds known to human noses: rotten eggs, fish, and cooked bacon (the burnt part!).

Strong Scent. No Staying Power

We’ve solved the mystery of why cannabis smoke seems to smell ‘better’ than cigarette smoke but the elephant hasn’t left the room: why can it escape?

From a chemistry perspective, there’s a big catch when it comes to cannabis. The mainstream smoke of cannabis, defined as the smoke when inhaled, is 20x higher in ammonia than cigarette smoke. Ammonia is highly polar. Water, present in air and in showers, is also highly polar. Thus, cannabis smoke is much more likely to cling to particles in the air and be carried away than sink its buttocks into your unmoving couch.

Cannabis smoke is the Dumbo of smell: seemingly heavy footed yet with a gust it’s gone. Its disappearing act lies in the chemistry of its smoke. Lots of ammonia and a lack of acrolein, formaldehyde, and nitrosamines concocts a cloud that has enchanted squalls of chemists and cannabis consumers alike.

How can I hide the smell of weed? image
Cannabis 101
How can I hide the smell of weed?
Jeremiah Wilhelm

Shop highly rated dispensaries near you

Showing you dispensaries near
See all dispensaries
  • Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
  • Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
  • Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
  • Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
    Loading...Loading...
  • See all dispensaries
See all dispensaries
Canadachemistrysciencesmell
Katarina Kostovic
Katarina Kostovic
A writer and educator living in Toronto, Katarina has been studying the relationship between cannabis & physiology since 2012. She has also written educational material for GrowWise Health, Tokyo Smoke & Van Der Pop.
View Katarina Kostovic's articles

The latest in Canada

  • Vancouver weed visitor’s guide 2024 image
    Vancouver weed visitor’s guide 2024
    Amelia Williams
  • A history of cannabis prohibition in Canada image
    A history of cannabis prohibition in Canada
    Emma Spears
  • Are psychedelics legal in Canada? image
    Are psychedelics legal in Canada?
    Colleen Fisher Tully
  • D8, Eh? What Canadians need to know about Delta-8 cannabis products image
    D8, Eh? What Canadians need to know about Delta-8 cannabis products
    Adam Greenblatt
Get good reads, local deals, and strain spotlights delivered right to your inbox.

By providing us with your email address, you agree to Leafly's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.



Stay In Touch

Receive updates on new products, special offers, and industry news.

Something went wrong, please try again.

By providing us with your email address, you agree to Leafly’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Leafly mobile app
Get high for less.
Download the Leafly app.
Download Leafly: Marijuana Reviews on the App StoreDownload Leafly Marijuana Reviews on Google Play

Business Solutions
  • List your store
  • List your CBD store
  • List your brand
  • List your practice
  • Business log in

About Leafly
  • About us
  • Careers
  • Newsroom
  • Investor relations
  • Contact us
  • FAQs
  • Accessibility

Dispensaries in
  • Los Angeles
  • Seattle
  • Portland
  • San Francisco
  • Toronto
  • Detroit

Privacy & Terms
  • Terms of use
  • Commercial terms of use
  • Privacy policy
  • Do not sell my personal information

* Statements made on this website have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Information provided by this website or this company is not a substitute for individual medical advice.


© 2025 Leafly, LLC
Leafly and the Leafly logo are registered trademarks of Leafly, LLC. All Rights Reserved.