Smoking marijuana can damage the lungs more than tobacco, according to a study

Smoking marijuana can damage the lungs and respiratory tract more than tobacco, according to a Canadian study released this Tuesday (15.11.2022).

Researchers from the University of Ottawa and Ottawa Hospital examined chest X-rays of 56 cannabis smokers, 57 nonsmokers, and 33 tobacco-only smokers between 2005 and 2020.

They found higher rates of airway inflammation and emphysema, a chronic lung disease, among regular cannabis smokers compared to regular tobacco-only smokers and non-smokers.

Differences in Marijuana Use

“Smoking marijuana is on the rise and there is a perception that marijuana is safe, or that it is safer than cigarettes,” tobacco, Giselle Revah, a radiologist at Ottawa Hospital, where the research was conducted, told AFP. “But this study raises concerns that this is not true,” she added.

He said the higher rates of inflammation and disease among marijuana versus tobacco smokers could be related to differences in how the two substances are consumed.

“Marijuana is smoked without a filter, while tobacco is usually filtered,” he said. “When you smoke unfiltered marijuana, more particles get into your airways, settle there, and irritate your airways,” she explained.

In addition, he added, in the case of marijuana, the puffs are usually “larger and the smoke is retained longer in the lungs, which can cause greater trauma” in those organs.

Despite these possible explanations, the authors of the study, published in the journal Radiology, noted that some cannabis smokers also smoked tobacco, and that some of the pulmonary investigations produced inconclusive results, implying that more studies are needed.

As Revah pointed out, there is very little research on the health effects of cannabis, as it is banned in most countries.

In Canada, where the study was conducted, the recreational use of cannabis was legalized in 2018.

It is also allowed in Uruguay and Mexico among other countries and in much of the United States. Other countries and territories have decriminalized marijuana possession or approved its medicinal use.