A very limited study concluded that Smoking cannabis doesn't carry the same COPD risk as tobacco ??
Ah, but for starters it didn’t include vaping, the now preferred insufflation delivery method for nicotine and any other substance. And it was limited to a small cohort.
Vaping will carry an even higher risk than smoking. We don’t have the long-term continuous use of smoking that people are doing now. Many smoke cannabis like cigarettes (multiple times a day) - this will catch up.
- Marijuana and Lung Health
- CDC: Marijuana and Public Health – Lung Health
- How Long Term Cannabis Use Damages Lungs
Although the effects of cannabis were detrimental, the pattern of lung function changes was not the same. The research found that prolonged cannabis use led to over-inflated lungs and increased the resistance to airflow to a greater extent than tobacco," he says.
"It was also found that cannabis use may also impair the ability of the lungs to extract oxygen from the breath. This is a known consequence of smoking tobacco, but has not been demonstrated with cannabis until now.
Respiratory doctors recognise that some patients who smoke a lot of cannabis have a distinct form of lung damage -- a very severe form of emphysema that is sometimes called bong lung -- but little is actually known about this condition.
Inhaling any marijuana product can also expose the user to chemicals and pesticides contained in available products. How these substances affect the proper function of the lung is unknown. No method of inhaling marijuana, smoked or not smoked, can therefore be considered safe until further studies are done.
In a recent Radiology journal study, researchers report chest computed tomography (CT) findings that the lungs of marijuana smokers exhibit more significant levels of airway inflammatory markers and emphysema as compared to those of tobacco-only smokers.
Vaping only ramps this up…The results seem to be that the damage will occur earlier and be more severe. Vaping can lead to E.V.A.L.I. - which causes permanent lung damage and irreparable lung damage.
It is vital we place more than one limited study before young people.
Dr Karen Randall – D.A.R.Team.