From User Behavior to Laboratory Standards: Developing Cannabis Smoking Machine Protocols from Real-World Puff Topography Data

“Puff-topography data were collected across five U.S. states using Cambustion’s CannaFlo flowmeter. Anonymous data from 62 participants were analyzed for volumetric flow rate, puff duration, peak flow, and total puff volume to identify characteristic behavior patterns between participants. Three distinct puff profiles were identified: intense, characterized by rapid peak flow, rapid decline of flow, and short duration; slow, defined by longer duration and more constant sustained fl ow rate; and double puff, displaying two closely spaced puffs within a single puff event. These findings highlight the current limitations of cigarette-based puffing protocols to study cannabis-specifi c smoking in research settings. The averaged data was used to develop representative profiles that provide an alternative methodological approach that improves external validity and applicability for cannabis-specific smoking-machine research.”