One joint the same as five cigarettes - study

[nugget]

One joint the same as five ciggies - study

 

Author: Unknown

Date: July 31, 2007 10:07am

Source: News.com.au

Copyright: © 2007 Davies Brothers Pty Limited.

 

 

 

  Quote

SMOKING a single cannabis joint has the same impact on breathing capacity as up to five cigarettes, according to a New Zealand study.

 

In the research, published in a specialist British journal, Thorax, Medical Research Institute of New Zealand doctors recruited 339 volunteers, who were divided into four categories - those who smoked only cannabis, those who smoked only tobacco, those who smoked both, and those who smoked neither.

 

Cannabis-only smokers were defined as those who had smoked the equivalent of at least one joint a day for five years; tobacco-only smokers were those who had smoked the equivalent of a packet of cigarettes a day for at least a year.

 

All the participants were scanned by computed tomography (CT) to get a high-definition image of their lungs and were given tests to assess their airflow, the term for their respiratory efficiency.

 

The most serious damage was found in tobacco smokers - both tobacco-only and combined users - who were the only volunteers to have emphysema, a degenerative and crippling lung diseases.

 

Canabis smokers had lighter symptoms, such as wheeze, cough, chest tightness and phlegm, which tobacco smokers also had.

 

But the CT scan also revealed that, among cannabis smokers, fine damage had occurred to their lungs. This had happened in small fine airways that are important for bringing in oxygen and taking away waste gases. As a result, their lungs had to work harder.

 

The extent of the damage rose in proportion to the number of joints that had been smoked.

 

In statistical terms, each joint that was smoked was the equivalent of smoking between two and a half and five cigarettes in one go for impairing lung efficiency.

 

The researchers, led by Richard Beasley, said the discovery of this hazard is "of major public health significance'' given that cannabis is the most widely-used illegal drug worldwide.

 

According to the 2006 report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, an estimated 160 million people use cannabis.

 

Mr Beasley suggested that the reason for cannabis' heavy toll on the lungs stems the fact that joints were usually smoked without a filter and were smoked down as far as possible, which meant the smoke was hotter when it arrived in the lungs.

 

In addition, cannabis users tended to inhale smoke more deeply and then hold their breath in order to get a bigger "high''.

 

On Saturday, a study published in the British journal The Lancet said there was now clear evidence of a link between cannabis smoking and mental ill-health.

 

Here's a link to the website the report came from but I can't seem to find the article they are talking about though.

[Chato]

I wouldn;t really disagree with those findings. I'm a heavy smoker (trying to quit ) at least a pack a day an i always found joints hit me way harder than bongs in terms of tightness in the chest and wheezing an coughing problems. I rarely smoke joints because of this and as i get older an lungs have taken more punishment i'm considering switching to vapes.

 

peace

c

[Frazz]

Yep since ive stopped joints and started on a bong i havent had to use my oxygen tank half as much ...

nah i do think the bong water is a good filter and cools the smoke too , but i mainly pipe my weed now, just for convenience and that seems ok

but the real difference is the weed doesnt have all the chemical treatments that come with tobaccy, so i dunno about the 5 ciggys = 1 joint

 

[urefriend]

What do you think about vapourizors? I heard they are a healthy choice!

[67Special]

If 5 cigarettes got you as stoned as 1 joint the world would be a better place

  Quote

The researchers, led by Richard Beasley, said the discovery of this hazard is "of major public health significance'' given that cannabis is the most widely-used illegal drug worldwide.

More to-the-point Dick Beasley, why the fuck is tobacco still legal??? THAT imo is "of major public health significance'' fuckwits

[loylty gets u nothing]

why are the peeps that smoke mull having to have smoked for 5 yrs?

where the ciggie smokers are only 1 yr???

imo this is another voodo like thing

dont smoke dope its bad..worse than 5 ciggies just 1 joint

get fucked

i smoked bungers since i was 14

mull since i was 14

sure im not the fittest no where as fit as i was

wen i was 19 and still playing rugby league

but imho this all due to other lifestyle choices too

pwerrr

bil

 

thanks for sharing nugg

[freddie]

  Quote

What do you think about vapourizors? I heard they are a healthy choice!

 

Vapourisers are a healthy choice. Cuts out over 90% of the tar content and I've felt much healthier since using one. Eating is the healthiest option although it's hard to get the right dose.

 

Wasn't there another study done last year that showed no connection between cannabis smoking and lung cancer? Might see if I can find a link.

[freddie]

  Quote

Pot Smoking Not Linked to Lung Cancer

Study Shows No Increased Risk for Even the Heaviest Marijuana Smokers

By Salynn Boyles

WebMD Medical News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

 

May 23, 2006 -- People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancerlung cancer, new research suggests.

 

While a clear increase in cancercancer risk was seen among cigarette smokers in the study, no such association was seen for regular cannabis users.

 

Even very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000 joints over a lifetime seemed to have no greater risk than infrequent marijuana users or nonusers.

 

The findings surprised the study’s researchers, who expected to see an increase in cancer among people who smoked marijuana regularly in their youth.

 

“We know that there are as many or more carcinogens and co-carcinogens in marijuana smoke as in cigarettes,” researcher Donald Tashkin, MD, of UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine tells WebMD. “But we did not find any evidence for an increase in cancer risk for even heavy marijuana smoking.” Carcinogens are substances that cause cancer.

 

Tashkin presented the findings today at The American Thoracic Society’s 102nd International Conference, held in San Diego.Boomers Reaching Cancer Age

 

The study population was limited to people who were younger than 60 because people older than that would probably not have used marijuana in their teens and early adult years.

 

“People who may have smoked marijuana in their youth are just now getting to the age when cancers are being seen,” Tashkin says.

 

A total of 611 lung cancer patients living in Los Angeles County, and 601 patients with other cancers of the head and neck were compared with 1,040 people without cancer matched for age, sex, and the neighborhood they lived in.

 

All the participants were asked about lifetime use of marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol, as well as other drugs, their diets, occupation, family history of lung cancer, and socioeconomic status.

 

The heaviest marijuana users in the study had smoked more than 22,000 joints, while moderately heavy smokers had smoked between 11,000 and 22,000 joints.

 

While two-pack-a-day or more cigarette smokers were found to have a 20-fold increase in lung cancer risk, no elevation in risk was seen for even the very heaviest marijuana smokers.

 

The more tobacco a person smoked, the greater their risk of developing lung cancer and other cancers of the head and neck. But people who smoked more marijuana were not at increased risk compared with people who smoked less and people who didn’t smoke at all.

The THC Connection

 

Studies suggest that marijuana smoke contains 50% higher concentrations of chemicals linked to lung cancerlung cancer than cigarette smoke. Marijuana smokers also tend to inhale deeper than cigarette smokers and hold the inhaled smoke in their lungs longer.

 

So why isn’t smoking marijuana as dangerous as smoking cigarettes in terms of cancercancer risk?

 

The answer isn’t clear, but the experts say it might have something to do with tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is a chemical found in marijuana smoke.

 

Cellular studies and even some studies in animal models suggest that THC has antitumor properties, either by encouraging the death of genetically damaged cells that can become cancerous or by restricting the development of the blood supply that feeds tumors, Tashkin tells WebMD.

 

In a review of the research published last fall, University of Colorado molecular biologist Robert Melamede, PhD, concluded that the THC in cannabis seems to lessen the tumor-promoting properties of marijuana smoke.

 

The nicotine in tobacco has been shown to inhibit the destruction of cancer-causing cells, Melamede tells WebMD. THC does not appear to do this and may even do the opposite.

 

While there was a suggestion in the newly reported study that smoking marijuana is weakly protective against lung cancer, Tashkin says the very weak association was probably due to chance.

 

Cancer risk among cigarette smokers was not influenced by whether or not they also smoked marijuana.

 

“We saw no interaction between marijuana and tobacco, and we certainly would not recommend that people smoke marijuana to protect themselves against cancer,” he says.

SOURCES: American Thoracic Society 102nd International Conference, San Diego, May 23, 2006. Donald Tashkin, MD, professor of medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles. Robert Melamede, PhD, molecular biologist, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. WebMD Medical News: “Pot Smoke: Less Carcinogenic Than Tobacco?”

© 2006 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.

 

Smoking pot may damage your lungs but this study suggests that it doesnt at least cause lung cancer. Sorry if this has been posted before but I think it needs repeating. If your going to smoke dope at least try to minimise the potential harm you are doing to yourself. Stay healthy and safe.