Study: Smoking pot damages lungs
Cannabis robs the body of cell-protecting antioxidants
Smoking cannabis is not the harmless recreational activity it may seem because it can cause lung damage, researchers said on Friday.
REGULARLY SMOKING three or four joints a week, even for less than six years, can impair lung function and rob the body of antioxidants that protect cells against damage that can lead to heart disease and cancer.
“Smoking cannabis on a regular basis actually depletes your lung of protective antioxidant substances...and this may have chronic long-term implications for young individuals,” said Dr Sarah Nuttall of the University of Birmingham in central England.
In a small study involving 20 people aged 19 to 30, including non-smokers and those who smoked tobacco and cannabis, Nuttall and her team took blood samples, measured lung function and tested for antioxidant markers. She presented the finding at a meeting of the British Thoracic Society in London.
“We found that smokers, compared to non-smokers, had impaired lung function,” Nuttall said in an interview.
Cannabis smokers also had significantly lower levels of a protective antioxidant and nitric oxide, which is involved in lung function, than non-smokers.
“These findings are important in young individuals in which the use of cannabis is increasing and may have serious long-term implications for what is currently regarded as a relatively harmless recreational habit,” she said.
Dr John Harvey, of the British Thoracic Society, called for more research into the effects of smoking on the lungs.
“It is vital that young people understand the dangers of both cigarette and cannabis smoking since these habits can start having a serious impact on their lungs at an early stage,” he said in a statement.
Some European countries have taken a relaxed approach to cannabis use. Although it is technically illegal in the Netherlands, the drug can be bought and used in cannabis coffee shops in the country.
The Netherlands was also the first nation to make cannabis available as a prescription drug in pharmacies for chronically ill patients.
Cannabis robs the body of cell-protecting antioxidants
Smoking cannabis is not the harmless recreational activity it may seem because it can cause lung damage, researchers said on Friday.
REGULARLY SMOKING three or four joints a week, even for less than six years, can impair lung function and rob the body of antioxidants that protect cells against damage that can lead to heart disease and cancer.
“Smoking cannabis on a regular basis actually depletes your lung of protective antioxidant substances...and this may have chronic long-term implications for young individuals,” said Dr Sarah Nuttall of the University of Birmingham in central England.
In a small study involving 20 people aged 19 to 30, including non-smokers and those who smoked tobacco and cannabis, Nuttall and her team took blood samples, measured lung function and tested for antioxidant markers. She presented the finding at a meeting of the British Thoracic Society in London.
“We found that smokers, compared to non-smokers, had impaired lung function,” Nuttall said in an interview.
Cannabis smokers also had significantly lower levels of a protective antioxidant and nitric oxide, which is involved in lung function, than non-smokers.
“These findings are important in young individuals in which the use of cannabis is increasing and may have serious long-term implications for what is currently regarded as a relatively harmless recreational habit,” she said.
Dr John Harvey, of the British Thoracic Society, called for more research into the effects of smoking on the lungs.
“It is vital that young people understand the dangers of both cigarette and cannabis smoking since these habits can start having a serious impact on their lungs at an early stage,” he said in a statement.
Some European countries have taken a relaxed approach to cannabis use. Although it is technically illegal in the Netherlands, the drug can be bought and used in cannabis coffee shops in the country.
The Netherlands was also the first nation to make cannabis available as a prescription drug in pharmacies for chronically ill patients.
