Yahoo News: One cannabis joint as bad as five cigarettes

LONDON (Reuters) - Smoking a single cannabis joint is as harmful to lungs as having up to five cigarettes in succession, according to research published on Tuesday.
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Researchers found that those who smoking cannabis damaged both the lungs' small fine airways, used for transporting oxygen, and the large airways, which blocked the airflow.

It meant that cannabis smokers complained of wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness, the study by experts at the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand found.

The researchers tested 339 people -- those who only smoked cannabis, those who smoked tobacco, those who smoked both and non-smokers.

While the study found that only those who smoked tobacco suffered from the crippling lung disease emphysema, cannabis use still stopped the lungs working properly.

"The extent of this damage was directly related to the number of joints smoked, with higher consumption linked to greater incapacity," said the authors of the report published in the medical journal Thorax.

"The effect on the lungs of each joint was equivalent to smoking between 2.5 and five cigarettes in one go."

The findings come less than a week after researchers said using marijuana increased the risk of developing a psychotic illness such as schizophrenia.

The government is currently considering whether cannabis should be reclassified as a more serious drug because of the dangers associated with stronger strains.

"The danger cannabis poses to respiratory health is consistently being overlooked," said Helena Shovelton, Chief Executive of the British Lung Foundation.

"Smoking a joint is more harmful to the lungs than smoking a cigarette and we have just banned people from doing that in public places because of the health risks."

Source: One cannabis joint as bad as five cigarettes - Yahoo! News UK

aww wtf? we got two ghosts now?

this is bullshit.

enough said.

dude.... that's old as fuck lol.... that myth was around back before i ever even started smoking weed.

dude, it's just bullshit that they use this shit as propaganda for it's continued illegalization.

im not saying its true, i just found it and thought id share....i dont care either way lol

And what medicinal properties does tobacco have? Trace.

LEGAL Rx narcotics can cause constipation, addiction, stomach cramps, liver failure, not to mention DEATH.

So it causes a bit of lung irritation? Vape it or eat it.

"There is no known medicine known currently that delivers medication through inhaling the contents."

Amyl nitrate, Albuterol, Flonase, Relenza, Amphadase ect. Pharmaceutical companies are now looking for more convenient ways to create inhalable medicines in order to reduce gastric side effects of medicines notorious for doing so.

Well.Theres the facts ladies.You better start ordering your grave stone you'll be dead before the weekend.lol

yep, this one is utter bullshit. pas everyone on this site should know by now the worst thing weed does to your lungs is make it so you are short of breath quicker. and even if that is what this study is saying, that it is wworse than tobacco in that regard(which is not what its saying), as someone who runs every day i can personally say the breathing difference is much, much more noticeable in cigarettes than in weed, in that it is a lot harder to run if you smoked cigarettes the night before then compared to weed. i will say it is easiest if you dont smoke at all, but weed doesnt have any lasting damage to breathing i have noticed and the facts are in it simply is not bad for you lungs

No type of smoke inhalation is safe, you should vaporize it if you can.