Marijuana smoke VS. Ciggarette Smoke

[asdfb1999]

In the latest Time magazine there was this section and they said that a single marijuana joint does as much harm to the lungs as smoking 5 cigarettes one after another.

Discuss. -_-

asdfb1999 Reviewed by asdfb1999 on 11-25-2007. Marijuana smoke VS. Ciggarette Smoke In the latest Time magazine there was this section and they said that a single marijuana joint does as much harm to the lungs as smoking 5 cigarettes one after another. Discuss. -_- Rating: 5

[skatin_foo15]

How I argue with people about that statement is this: "If smoking marijuana is FIVE TIMES WORSE then cigarettes, and over 400,000 people die a year from tobacco in the United States. Where are the deaths caused from marijuana? I have heard of none. In fact have you ever even heard of someone dying from a marijuana related illness?"
So just by this observation alone it disproves that marijuana is worse than tobacco.

Heres something you may like to look at that i found off of yahoo.
# Over 438,000 Americans (18.1 percent of all deaths) die because of smoking each year. Secondhand smoke kills about 50,000 of them.

# 1.2 million people in China die because of smoking each year. That's 2,000 people a day.

# Tobacco use will kill 1 billion people in the 21st century if current smoking trends continue.

# Around 100 million people died because of tobacco use in the 20th century.

# 650,000 Europeans die each year from tobacco-related diseases, EU figures reveal.

# In Russia, smoking kills 300,000 Russians every year from smoking ailments.

How can you look at these figures and then still think marijuana is worse than tobacco. Hurray for media brainwashing....

[Rapidfire187]

^ You're looking at it wrong though.

Yes, marijuana is harmful to your lungs if smoked. Of course it is. I'm no scientist, but I don't THINK a joint is more harmful than a single cigarette. However, what you're doing is saying that since a million people aren't dying from smoking bud, then it can't be more dangerous than a cigarette. There's several flaws with that.

1.) Out of all those cases you named off where someone died of a "smoking ailment", do you think none of those people smoked weed? I'd wager that a good portion of pot smokers are also cigarette smokers, thus making it impossible to say that one or the other caused them to obtain lung cancer without any specific scientific FACTS.

2.) You don't smoke as much marijuana as you do tobacco. A typical cigarette smoker smokes about a pack a day. Who do you know that smokes 20 joints a day? That's insane. I bet if somebody smoked 20 joints a day, they'd be at a higher risk for lung cancer than someone that doesn't smoke weed. Whether or not they'd be at a higher risk than someone that smokes cigarettes is unknown, but is possible.

3.) The primary way of tobacco smoking is through a cigarette. While marijuana is usually smoked in a joint/blunt/pipe, it's also commonly smoked with a bong, or vaporized (both of which are significantly less damaging to your lungs). People just don't put tobacco in their bongs every time they have a nic fit, and I've never heard of someone vaping tobacco.

4.) Cigarettes are addictive. Chances are that if you're a smoker now, you'll be a smoker for the rest of your life. Weed smokers are off and on most of the time, and a lot of pot smokers are forced to stop due to a job or probation. Basically what I'm saying is that not only does a cigarette smoker smoke more per day than a weed smoker, but they also smoke on a DAILY basis.

So while I don't think the smoke from a joint or blunt is more dangerous than a cigarette , it's impossible to debunk the theory just based on death statistics. Call me when you find a pack-a-day joint smoker, and we'll use them as the guinea pig lol.

[thechief69]

Cigarettes are way worse because

-Addictive
-cancer causing agents
-Think of all the chemicals, in the paper to burn slower, to taste better, the tobacco to stay preserved longer, in the tobacco so it burns slower


Think about marijuana, you plant a seed, you water it, a lot of people fertilize but you don't have to, you just cut the tops of the plant off, then dry it out, then smoke it. Now think about the tobacco/cigarette factories and all the impurities and chemicals that's put in them vs marijuana. I mean I think the answer is pretty clear.

[klondike_bar]

A.Cigarettes
Units Marijuana Tobacco
(85mm) (85mm)
Average Weight (mg) 1115 1110
Mositure (%) 10.3 11.1
Pressure Drop cm 14.7 7.2
Static Burning rate mg/s 0.88 0.80
Puff Number 10.7 11.1


B.Mainstream Smoke
I. Gas Phase Units Marijuana Tobacco
Carbon Monoxide % 3.99 4.58
mg 17.6 20.2
Carbon Dioxide % 8.27 9.38
mg 57.3 65.0
Ammonia mcg 228 199
HCN mcg 532 498
Cyanogen (CN)2 mcg 19 20
Isoprene mcg 83 310
Acetaldehyde mcg 1200 980
Acetone mcg 443 578
Acrolein mcg 92 85
Acetonitrilebenzene mcg 132 123
Benzene mcg 76 67
Toluene mcg 112 108
Vinyl chloride ng 5.4 12.4
Dimethylnitrosamine ng 75 84
Methylethylnitrosamine ng 27 30
pH, third puff 6.56 6.14
fifth puff 6.57 6.15
seventh puff 6.58 6.14
ninth puff 6.56 6.10
tenth puff 6.58 6.02


II. Particulate phase Units Marijuana Tobacco
Tl particulate - dry mg 22.7 39.0
Phenol mcg 76.8 138.5
o-Cresol mcg 17.9 24
m- and p-Cresol mcg 54.4 65
Dimethylphenol mcg 6.8 14.4
Catechol mcg 188 328
Cannbidiol mcg 190
D9 THC mcg 820
Cannabinol mcg 400
Nicotine mcg 2850
N-Nitrosonornicotine ng 390
Naphthalene mcg 3.0 1.2
1-Methylnaphthalene mcg 6.1 3.65
2-Methylnaphthalese mcg 3.6 1.4
Benz(a)anthracene ng 75 43
Benzo(a)pyrene ng 31 21.1

[klondike_bar]

whoops, charts didnt copy right. heres the link: Erowid Cannabis Vault : Info on Smoke composition

its erowid, so id assume its a good source.

looks like its generally safer, but marijuana is still higher in terms of some chemicals. but not a 5:1 ratio for sure

[BlueNWhite]

the weed is only weed the cigarettes have tons of burn slower and bad shit

[thechief69]

whoops, charts didnt copy right. heres the link: Erowid Cannabis Vault : Info on Smoke composition

its erowid, so id assume its a good source.

looks like its generally safer, but marijuana is still higher in terms of some chemicals. but not a 5:1 ratio for sure

To people that aren't aware of a lot of chemicals that doesn't do much good, because one chemical could be a lot worse for you than another and you wouldn't know that unless you're educated in chemicals in smoke.

[twistpipe109]

I'm sure smoking ANYTHING cant be good.
But, If you dont get cancer from maijuana smoke, who cares?

[sam44]

commercial tobacco is radioactive, son