Airway injuries
and inflammation 5
Physical changes to the lungs are the arch nemesis of healthy breathing, meaning you may eventually be battling coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and worsening asthma symptoms. You could even develop symptoms of chronic bronchitis.
Bronchospasms 7
Good lungs may find
themselves squaring off against bronchospasms – a sudden
tightening of the muscles in
the walls of your airways –
leaving you fighting for air.
Excess sputum 6
Sputum (alias: phlegm) is the sidekick you never asked for. It’s a mixture of saliva
and thick mucus coughed up from the
lower respiratory tract.
Infections 8
Changes to your lungs’ immune cells up your risk of facing off against infectious foes like pneumonia, or even fungal or bacterial pathogens from the cannabis plants. Sharing pipes or bongs increases your risk of tuberculosis, too.
CAN CANNABIS
CAUSE LUNG CANCER?
We don’t know for sure – yet
According to the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research at McMaster University, there have been around 12 studies that investigated the link between cannabis and lung cancer:
8 studies
noted an increase in lung cancer risk from cannabis.*
4 studies
found either no significant association or a lower risk for lung cancer.
Bottom Line:
Cannabis smoke use might increase your lung cancer risk, but so far, the evidence is inconsistent. More research is needed.
* In those studies that noted an increased risk, these ranged from 2 to 4-fold increased risk of lung cancer in cannabis smokers, but were not methodologically as strong as those studies finding no increases in cancer risk.
CAN CANNABIS
CAUSE LUNG CANCER?
We don’t know for sure – yet
According to the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis Research at McMaster University, there have been around 12 studies that investigated the link between cannabis and lung cancer:
8 studies
noted an increase in lung cancer risk from cannabis.*
4 studies
found either no significant association or a lower risk for lung cancer.
Bottom Line:
Cannabis smoke use might increase your lung cancer risk, but so far, the evidence is inconsistent. More research is needed.
* In those studies that noted an increased risk, these ranged from 2 to 4-fold increased risk of lung cancer in cannabis smokers, but were not methodologically as strong as those studies finding no increases in cancer risk.
SHARE THE TOKER’S SAGA
Share the misadventures, and help your friends breathe a little easier.
SHARE THE TOKER’S SAGA
Share the misadventures, and help your friends breathe a little easier.