Chronic Sore Throat from Smoking, Looking for a Medical Opinion?

Main Question: Has my throat recovered, or will I now have to deal with a correlation between smoking and a throat infection?

Backstory: Over the summer I smoked a substance of questionable legality 2-3 times a day (Let’s say I was using it medicinally in California). My summer was 2-3 months long, around the end of the second month I had a sore throat (common for me 1-2 times a year), saw the doctor, and got antibiotics. I continued my habit, and this happened again three more times (Three more sets of antibiotics, I was planning to have my tonsils removed). Near the end of the summer, I had completely lost the urge to cough when smoking and could basically take any kind of a hit. (Personal detail) It seemed like near the end, after i smoked once the morning after my throat started to hurt. School then started and I didn’t smoke for a good 3+ months with absolutely ZERO throat problems.

Currently: I smoked once about a week ago and haven’t experienced a single problem.

Best Answer

“I [now] smoked once about a week ago and haven’t experienced a single problem.
Has my throat recovered, or will I now have to deal with a correlation between smoking and a throat infection?”

Pot smoke can be hot and resinous enough to irritate the mouth, throat, tonsils, and even the larynx. The more you smoke, the more the injury. The more the chemical/thermal injury to your throat, the more susceptible these tissues will be to opportunistic invaders.

It’s a question of degree.

It now sounds as if you’ve hit upon a smoking regimen that doesn’t leave your throat defenseless. It will probably continue to behave itself unless you smoke more again.