According to a study published by the Radiological Society of North America, inflammation of the airways and emphysema (a chronic lung disease) are more common in marijuana smokers than in non-smokers or tobacco-only smokers. Also, smoking cannabis when you are already a tobacco smoker increases lung damage.
To reach these conclusions, researchers from the University of Ottawa compared the chest scans of 56 cannabis smokers, 57 non-smokers and 33 people who only smoked tobacco between 2005 and 2020. According to the researchers, the higher rates of inflammation and disease in cannabis smokers compared to tobacco might be related to differences in how drugs are typically consumed: cannabis is typically smoked unfiltered. More particles therefore reach the respiratory tract, where they settle and become irritating.
Marijuana is the most widely used illicit psychoactive substance in the world and the second most commonly smoked substance after tobacco. “Cannabis use is on the rise and the public is under the impression that marijuana is harmless, or safer than cigarettes,” Giselle Revah, a radiologist at the hospital, told AFP. Ottawa, where the research was conducted. “But this study raises concerns that this may not be true.”
Source : Chest CT Findings in Marijuana Smokers, RadiologyNovember 2022