People who only smoke cannabis have fewer toxic chemicals in their blood and urine than people who smoke tobacco.
- Acrolein is a toxic chemical that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Tobacco consumption increases the presence of acrolein in blood and urine while cannabis has no influence.
Smoking is never good, but cannabis might be less toxic than tobacco. This is suggested by a study published on January 11 in the EClinicalMedicinea review of The Lancet. “Marijuana use is on the rise in the United States, with an increasing number of states legalizing it for medical and non-medical purposes, including five additional states in the 2020 electionsexplained Dana Gabuzda, lead author of the study. The increase has renewed concerns about the potential health effects of marijuana smoke, which is known to contain some of the same toxic combustion products found in tobacco smoke..”
Acrolein, a toxic product specific to tobacco
Cannabis consumption leads to the presence of toxic chemicals in the blood and urine, but in lower quantities than in tobacco users. Among these products, we find acrylonitrile, acrylamide and, above all, acrolein. The difference between cannabis and tobacco smokers is essentially with acrolein. Produced by the combustion of various materials and an aggravating factor for cardiovascular diseases, its presence increases with smoking but not with marijuana. “This is the first study to compare exposure to acrolein and other harmful smoke-related chemicals over time in exclusive marijuana smokers and tobacco smokers, and to see if these exposures are linked to cardiovascular disease”, continued Dana Gabuzda.
Reducing exposure to acrolein may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. “This is especially important for people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, given the high rates of smoking and increased risk of heart disease in this group.”, add the researchers. The study involved 245 HIV-positive and HIV-negative participants recruited from three studies of HIV infection in the United States, due to high rates of smoking and cannabis use in this group. Researchers collected data from participants’ medical records, survey results, and blood and urine samples. Combining these data sets allowed them to trace the presence of specific toxic chemicals to smoking or cannabis and see if any are associated with an increased risk of heart disease.
Cannabis and tobacco are toxic
Researchers found that participants who exclusively smoked cannabis had higher blood and urine levels of several toxic chemicals such as naphthalene, acrylamide and acrylonitrile metabolites than non-smokers. However, the concentrations of these substances are lower than in tobacco smokers. The researchers also found that acrolein metabolites are elevated in tobacco smokers but not in cannabis smokers. “Our results suggest that high levels of acrolein can be used to identify patients at increased cardiovascular riskconcluded Dana Gabuzda. Reducing exposure to acrolein from smoking and other sources may be a strategy to reduce risk.”
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