cannabisnews.com: Cannabis 'Rapidly Damages Lungs' Cannabis 'Rapidly Damages Lungs' Posted by CN Staff on December 05, 2003 at 09:14:19 PT Even short term use of cannabis can damage lungs Source: BBC News UK Even short term use of cannabis can damage the lungs of young people, say researchers. A team from Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, conducted tests on smokers, non-smokers and cannabis users. Non-smokers had the healthiest lungs. But cannabis users showed more signs of damage than those who stuck to cigarettes. A British Thoracic Society meeting heard less than six years cannabis use was enough to cause significant damage. " It is vital that young people understand the dangers of both cigarette and cannabis smoking." -- Dr John HarveyDr Sarah Nuttall, a research fellow from the Department of Clinical Pharmacology at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, said: "The consensus among many young people who use cannabis seems to be that they will not suffer any long-term effects as long as they stop smoking it early enough. "However this is clearly not the case - our study shows that even short-term use of cannabis in addition to tobacco use does have an impact and makes a serious difference to lung function." Dr John Harvey, chairman of the BTS communications committee, said: "It is vital that young people understand the dangers of both cigarette and cannabis smoking since these habits can start having a serious impact on their lungs at an early stage." A British Medical Journal study published earlier this year warned that regular cannabis use may be as dangerous as smoking in the long term. Professor John Henry, a toxicologist at Imperial College London, feared that deaths attributable to cannabis could soar. There are currently an estimated 3.2 million people in the Britain who smoke cannabis regularly, compared with 13 million tobacco smokers. Newshawk: Dave in FloridaSource: BBC News (UK Web) Published: Friday, December 05, 2003Copyright: 2003 BBC Contact: newsonline bbc.co.ukWebsite: http://news.bbc.co.uk/ Related Articles:Marijuana Doesn't Cause Lung Cancerhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10025.shtmlMarijuana-Like Chemical Helps Relieve Coughshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7521.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #11 posted by Marc Paquette on December 08, 2003 at 04:48:30 PT: Excuse me, but... Hi my Friends;Well, I smoke both marijuana and cigarettes since 1969 and my lungs are still in perfect condition. Excume me, but that's "bull". The health effects aren't the same on everyone. Tobacco kills over 300,000 Americans and 45,000 Canadians per year, and "pot" 0. Peace,Marc http://www.medpot.net [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by escapegoat on December 06, 2003 at 15:53:28 PT An obfuscating reply from Sarah Nuttall I recieved this nice, obfuscating reply from the study's author (wonder if she knows Randy White -- sounds like a response typical of him) From: "Sarah Nuttall" If you had bothered to check your facts & actually read about the study you would find that there were 2 groups of smokers - those who smoked tobacco only & those who smoked tobacco + cannabis regularly. We were able therefore to report differences between tobacco only & tobacco + cannabis effects on the biochemistry of the lung. This showed differences between the groups with the tobacco + cannabis individuals having reduced antioxidant protection. Next time I suggest you get off your high horse & establish the facts before labelling anyone or any work "dishonest" - apart from your own thoughts that is.---I wrote back and asked her why there wasn't a control group that smoked cannabis ONLY, and suggest she stop trying to spin the study to appeal to her funders. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by escapegoat on December 06, 2003 at 14:51:31 PT What spin... The study compared cannabis AND tobacco users and non-smokers. An invalid study which proves nothing.Maybe Sarah Nutall can address this little discrepency: s.nuttall bham.ac.uk Sarah Nuttall (email) [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by BGreen on December 05, 2003 at 23:06:40 PT Arthropod I've been to the Netherlands four times in the last two years for a total of a month and I've been to coffeeshops in Amsterdam, Haarlem and Zandvoort aan Zee, and I've never seen anybody but North Americans smoking pure.All of the Brits, Scots, Irish, Czechs, Italians, Dutch, some Canadians I met at the Hemp Hotel and even some lucky former americans living in Amsterdam I met and partied with all mix. I couldn't share with anybody because I HATE tobacco.Wernard Bruning, the former owner of the first coffeeshop (Mellow Yellow) and growshop (Positronics) in the Netherlands, out of concern for the health of cannabis smokers came up with his trademark quote: "If you smoke it, smoke it pure."Amen.The Reverend Bud Green [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Dankhank on December 05, 2003 at 22:08:49 PT European In the seventies in Germany most Germans I saw who smoked hash crumbled some into a bowl with some tobacco to keep it lit, usually pulled from a cigarette, by the way ... most German commercial tobacco sucked ... nothing like the Virginia leaf ... Back then Germans would do hoops for some American Tobacco.In Amsterdam during Cannabis Cup 9, as observed in offeeshops, the Dutch would roll Hash or pot in a fluted joint mixed with tobacco getting some Nicotine with the Cannabis.Here in America we got 'Blunts' which I don't understand, but some like it.No bluntman here ... Vote [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Arthropod on December 05, 2003 at 20:54:22 PT: BGreen The only European I know, a Briton, smokes pure cannabis. I had heard of the mixing of tobacco and cannabis before, but I wasn't aware that it was quite so pervasive in Europe. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by jose melendez on December 05, 2003 at 18:34:09 PT What ever! Where are the bodies? One bourbon:http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=7529one scotch:http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1070623847143110.xmland one beer:http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/7420344.htmRemember now, cops get high - on booze.http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8122-920730,00.htmlHere's the truth:http://www.sumeria.net/politics/noclo.html#reaganGot proof:http://www.reconsider.org/about/links/review.htm caffeine pumping, gun wielding uniformed punks [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Dan B on December 05, 2003 at 16:27:18 PT The Health Police Are Gonna Getcha! Is smoking cannabis bad for your lungs? Of course it is, just as smoking anything else is bad for your lungs, and just as breathing in smog is bad for your lungs, and just as mowing the lawn without a surgical mask is bad for your lungs (you should see the crap I cough up when I do that). But that isn't the issue. The issue is that we still should not put people in prison for doing something that may one day harm them. Where does a policy of incarcerating people for using cannabis or some other non-government-sanctioned "drug" lead? Consider the following two articles:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/12/05/ntesco05.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/12/05/ixhome.htmlhttp://www.reason.com/hitandrun/ (Scroll down to "A Real Smoking Ban")Watch out, fat people! Watch out, cigarette smokers! The Health Police are coming for you next!Bottom Line: no government has the right to dictate to its citizens what they can and cannot put into their own bodies, nor does any government have the right to restrict the methods by which said substances are administered. Period. Dan B [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by lombar on December 05, 2003 at 15:17:54 PT Cigs I am an ex tobacco smoker and I can attest to the fact that cannabis causes far less damage. About 3 years ago I quit smoking everything cold turkey, cannabis and tobacco. For about 3 months I did not smoke anything at all. I could not escape tobacco smokers, almost everyone around me at that time was a smoker. I persisted and never smoked another ciggie and the reason is simple: If I am going to inhale smoke, I want some sort of pay off. What do you get from a ciggarette? Dizzy for a few times then your just addicted.. you get a craving for more. Not good enough to risk the various forms of cancer that tobacco may cause. I even know someone who has emphysema and STILL wont quit! (To be fair, I have known people to only smoke 1-2 cigs in a day....)Let's face it tho, our lungs are evolved to handle air, not smoke, smog, dust, or whatever irritant. Our respiratory system has evolved membranes and stuff to filter the air. So I do support the idea that young people should be taught to avoid smoking. It is not healthy. The prohibs usually pull out that old "Cannabis has 5 times the damaging chemicals than tobacco" but I always think, "Yes but I smoke 1/20 the amount of cannabis in a day!" I think that in a legal regulated environment people could be encouraged to filter their smoke. (and maybe a good vaporisor would be marketed at a reasonable price...) [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Shishaldin on December 05, 2003 at 10:48:51 PT Mixed joints? Ewwww.... No lie, BGreen...As you say "Most Europeans Smoke Mixed Joints" (blecch!)Note the phrasing "our study shows that even short-term use of cannabis _in addition to tobacco use_(emphasis mine) does have an impact and makes a serious difference to lung function."They *didn't* find any cannabis-only smokers for this study.I've been trying to get my wife away from smoking cigarettes for a few years now, and I can tell when she smoked cigarettes the day before (hacking/coughing) compared to *just* smoking cannabis (no hacking/coughing).Just say NO...to cigarettes. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by BGreen on December 05, 2003 at 09:46:28 PT Most Europeans Smoke Mixed Joints I've never met a European that smokes pure cannabis but I'm sure there is one or two.There's no way they could have found enough cannabis only users to participate in a study like this anywhere in Europe.How can they get away with manufacturing lies like this? Sheesh!The Reverend Bud Green [ Post Comment ] Post Comment