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Dear Stoner: Is smoking weed making my breath smell bad, or is it Ozempic? I started doing both around the same time, and hear either one can make your mouth reek.
Dragon Breath
Dear Dragon Breath: Consider yourself a rare one, because I’ve heard most cannabis users cut back consumption significantly once on Ozempic. Bad breath is a common side effect of both, however, and they’re probably not the only elements of the stank. Smoking weed, vaping, drinking coffee, eating garlic – the older we get, the more things we do that make our breath stink. But there are different types of offensive odors, and this helps the process of elimination.
“Ozempic breath” is attributed to your metabolic changes while taking the drug, and is often described as smelling metallic, fruity or like acetone or fish oil. Save for a fruity-tasting strain, the bad breath from smoking weed doesn’t smell like any of those things.
Bad breath is a common side effect of ozempic and smoking cannabis, but they bring different odors and probably aren’t the only elements of the stank.
Flickr/Joshua Miller
Smoking weed is dehydrating, of course, but THC also weakens saliva glands and causes xerostomia, or dry mouth. Add in a cup of coffee or potent food, and you’re breathing fire. The sulfuric breath BO from smoking or coffee isn’t like Ozempic breath, but I’m scared to imagine what combining them does. Not to worry: Just stay hydrated, keep mints on you, and enjoy getting high without the munchies. That’s a big win.
Send questions to marijuana@westword.com.
