Pot/tobacco combo and serious lung risks
April 19, 2009 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
If you smoke both marijuana and tobacco, you’re at an even higher risk of developing a serious lung disease, say researchers.
According to a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal last week, people who regularly smoked both tobacco and marijuana were about three times more likely than non-smokers to develop a COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), a serious lung disease. The authors wrote:
Smoking only tobacco was associated with an increased risk of COPD, as defined in all 3 ways. Smokers who reported using both marijuana and tobacco were almost 2.5 times more likely than nonsmokers to have respiratory symptoms and nearly 3 times more likely than nonsmokers to have COPD as defined by spirometric testing. These effects persisted even after we adjusted for potential confounders, such as age, sex, asthma and other comorbidities, and comparable tobacco exposure (in pack-years).
While it may seem to some people that such research doesn’t really mean much, this is very helpful information. As the authors point out “Anti-smoking campaigns should include a reduction in marijuana use among their goals, aiming especially at those who regularly use both marijuana and tobacco.”
What do you think? If you smoke pot, do you also smoke tobacco? Do the two go hand in hand?
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Images: Stock.xchng
Hi! first of all, nice site you have here. keep it up!
I do unfortunately smoke both cannabis and cigarettes, and this study is true, for sure. I can feel it everyday. Now please, and this is important, don’t get me wrong this is not the cannabis’ fault, I love weed. it’s the g*d damn cigarettes. I’ve quit them once before, and now I’m pretty close to being done with them for good.
Cigarettes are bad for you, the science is pretty clear on that. Cannabis on it’s own however is much safer. Wile no smoke, from cannabis or otherwise, is harmless to the lungs studies show no increases risk for lung cancer or head and neck cancers from cannabis. Vaporization is a wonderful method of cannabis consumption that is 100% safe for your lungs and very effective
Take care!
-Vegantoker
P.S. send me an email or something if you want to trade links, that would be cool. peace.
“What do you think? If you smoke pot, do you also smoke tobacco? Do the two go hand in hand?”
While I don’t think that pot smoking and cigarette smoking always go hand in hand (not all pot smokers smoke cigarettes, and not all cigarette smokers smoke pot), I have noticed that the majority of my friends that smoked pot also smoked cigarettes. It was rare to find someone that smoked pot but not cigarettes, though they were out there.
For me though it was hand in hand. I smoked both cigarettes and pot as a teen, and once I quit smoking cigarettes, I quit smoking pot as well.