Marijuana smokers have higher rate of some lung diseases than tobacco smokers

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Smoking weed may be worse for your lungs than smoking purely tobacco-filled cigarettes, new research suggests. 

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A small study comparing marijuana smokers and tobacco smokers found a higher rate of emphysema and airway diseases among the marijuana smokers. 

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Researchers at the University of Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital examined the chest CT scans of 56 cannabis smokers, 57 non-smokers, and 33 smokers of tobacco.

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The researchers set out to examine the effects of smoking weed on the lungs, and the health implications, because marijuana has only been legalised recently in many countries, including in Canada in 2018.

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“I can tell if someone is a heavy or a long-time cigarette smoker when I look at a CT scan,” said Giselle Revah, a radiologist and Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine. 

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The findings, published in the journal Radiology, showed that 75 per cent of the weed smokers had emphysema, compared to 5 per cent of the non-smokers, and 67 per cent of the tobacco smokers. 

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“In fact, there is a lack of imaging research in marijuana, probably because it's still illegal in many parts of the world, and in many US states, which is why I think we were the first to do a project like this” 

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“We've identified an association between marijuana smoking and damage to both the small and the large airways,” she said. “We need larger, more robust prospective studies with more patients to confirm it". 

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“With marijuana being the second most inhaled substance after tobacco, I started wondering: What does marijuana inhalation look like on a CT scan? Would I be able to tell if someone was a marijuana smoker, is it different from cigarette smoke?”  

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