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2007-07-31 05:44:59
A single cannabis joint could damage the lungs as much as smoking up to five
tobacco cigarettes one after another, scientists in New Zealand have said.
The research, published in the journal Thorax, found cannabis damaged the large
airways in the lungs causing symptoms such as coughing and wheezing.
It also damaged the ability of the lungs to get oxygen to, and remove waste
products from tissues.
Experts say the study confirms that the drug represents a serious health risk.
This research confirms that cannabis poses a serious health risk to the lungs,
and smoking a joint can be more harmful to the lungs than smoking a cigarette
Dr Keith Prowse
British Lung Foundation
In the study researchers from the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand,
Wakefield Hospital and the Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences,
studied 339 volunteers.
They took CT scans of their lungs and tested their lung function through
breathing tests to assess their lung damage.
Participants were divided into four groups - cannabis smokers, combined
cannabis and tobacco smokers, tobacco smokers, and non-smokers, and gave them a
questionnaire on their smoking habits.
Cannabis smokers were included if they had smoked at least one joint per day
for at least five years, while tobacco smokers had to have smoked 20 cigarettes
per day for one year.
Cannabis smokers reported symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, chest tightness
and excessive phlegm production.
The drug also reduced the numbers of small, fine airways that transport oxygen
and waste products to and from blood vessels in the lungs.
And it damaged the function of the large airways of the lungs, obstructing air
flow and forcing the lungs to work harder, so contributing to symptoms such as
coughing, and the development of bronchitis.
The extent of this large airway damage was directly related to the number of
joints smoked - the more joints smoked, the more damage was seen.
However, in this study, people who smoked only cannabis were not found to
suffer from emphysema, a serious and crippling lung disease which was
previously thought to be linked to the drug.
Impact
The authors said: "The most important finding was that one joint of cannabis
was similar to 2.5 to five tobacco cigarettes in terms of causing airflow
obstruction.
They said the impact of cannabis was likely to be due to the way in which
cannabis joints are smoked - joints do not usually have filters, and they reach
higher temperatures with users inhaling more deeply and holding their breath
for longer than cigarette smokers.
The British Lung Foundation welcomed the research, and Dr Keith Prowse,
chairman of the foundation said: "This research confirms that cannabis poses a
serious health risk to the lungs, and smoking a joint can be more harmful to
the lungs than smoking a cigarette.
"It's important to remember, though, that tobacco continues to be more harmful
overall because it is typically smoked in much higher quantities than
cannabis."
The warnings come after recent research suggested cannabis smokers were 40%
more likely than non-users to suffer psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia.