Occasional Pot Smoking Won't Harm Lungs

I was always taught by the geniuses at DARE that one "joint" was as carcinogenic as 20 cigarettes. This ratio became an urban myth in my area, and people usually recite it as gospel.

(does anybody say "joint" any more? It seems about as rare as "reefer")

flashback:

Smoking One Joint is Equivalent to 20 Cigarettes, Study Says

Smoking marijuana is far more dangerous than smoking cigarettes, according to a group of scientists in New Zealand.
The researchers found that smoking one joint is equivalent to 20 cigarettes in terms of lung cancer.
While studies in the past have shown that marijuana can cause cancer, few have actually established a strong link between marijuana use and the actual incidence of lung cancer.
For the study, researchers interviewed 79 lung cancer patients in an effort identify the main risk factors for the disease, such as smoking, family history and occupation. The patients were questioned about alcohol and marijuana consumption.
In the high-exposure group, lung cancer risk rose by 5.7 times for patients who smoked more than a joint a day for 10 years, or two joints a day for 5 years, after adjusting for other variables, including cigarette smoking.
"Cannabis smokers end up with five times more carbon monoxide in their bloodstream (than tobacco smokers)," team leader Richard Beasley, at the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand, said in a news release.
The scientists also noted that marijuana could be expected to harm the airways more than tobacco since its smoke contained twice the level of carcinogens, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons, compared with tobacco cigarettes.
"There are higher concentrations of carcinogens in cannabis smoke...what is intriguing to us is there is so little work done on cannabis when there is so much done on tobacco,” said Beasley.
"In the near future we may see an 'epidemic' of lung cancers connected with this new carcinogen. And the future risk probably applies to many other countries, where increasing use of cannabis among young adults and adolescents is becoming a major public health problem,” he added.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,326309,00.html#ixzz1jLtsrx8x
Click to expand...
 
so then after reading the research in my previous post and comparing it to the research in the OP, it seems that maybe marijuana is far less dangerous to lung function than tobacco but also far more carcinogenic. Any comments on this?
 
^^ Even if cannabis contains MORE carcinogens than tobacco, does this necessarily equate to a higher risk of cancer?

I would think that the TYPE, rather than number of cancerous chemicals would be a huge factor. For example, cannabis contains carcinogens that are natural, plant-based hydrocarbons; while tobacco contains synthetic industrial carcinogens.

My first impression is that synthetic chemicals pose more of a risk than natural ones.
 
arthunter888 said:
^^ Even if cannabis contains MORE carcinogens than tobacco, does this necessarily equate to a higher risk of cancer?
Click to expand...

It can't be known for sure, I think. But if you accept the results of one study, you have to accept the results of the other one. They both have very similar methodology.

People should not inhale any kind of smoke. I do, but I shouldn't.
 
arthunter888 said:
^^ Even if cannabis contains MORE carcinogens than tobacco, does this necessarily equate to a higher risk of cancer?

I would think that the TYPE, rather than number of cancerous chemicals would be a huge factor. For example, cannabis contains carcinogens that are natural, plant-based hydrocarbons; while tobacco contains synthetic industrial carcinogens.

My first impression is that synthetic chemicals pose more of a risk than natural ones.
Click to expand...

Why is it that everyone thinks natural is so much safer than synthetic?
 
First and foremost most of not all of tobacco has safe additives mostly plant extracts for flavor and freebasing compounds, the plant itself is cancerous as well as the process of smoking it...

Most are just aromatic compounds. Some are to change the texture and are volatile so they are evaporated even before they get to the pack...

If you look at the list of chemicals from cannibus smoke, you will see some familiar compounds... Why? It is a plant...

http://oehha.ca.gov/prop65/hazard_ident/pdf_zip/FinalMJsmokeHID.pdf

Read that article. Make sure you read the table of contents to get to the juicy stuff...
 
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