Research Shows Emphysema More Common in Marijuana Smokers Than Cigarette Smokers

Scitech Daily ^ | NOVEMBER 15, 2022 | By UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA

[Red Badger]

A new study has revealed that marijuana smokers have a higher rate of emphysema and airway diseases compared to cigarette smokers.

Researchers have found marijuana smokers have a higher rate of emphysema and airway diseases compared to cigarette smokers. The findings, from the University of Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital, will be published today (November 15) in the journal Radiology.

In the study, the chest CT examinations of 56 marijuana smokers, 57 non-smokers, and 33 tobacco-only smokers between 2005 and 2020 were analyzed. The investigators determined higher rates of paraseptal emphysema (PSE) and airway inflammatory changes, such as bronchiectasis, bronchial wall thickening, and mucoid impaction, in the marijuana smokers.

Airway Changes in Marijuana and Tobacco Smoker

Airway changes in a 66-year-old male marijuana and tobacco smoker. Contrast-enhanced (A) axial and (B) coronal CT images show cylindrical bronchiectasis and bronchial wall thickening (arrowheads) in multiple lung lobes bilaterally in a background of paraseptal (arrows) and centrilobular emphysema. Credit: Radiological Society of North America

Giselle Revah is a radiologist and Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine who was searching for answers on the effect of marijuana on the lungs and its health implications. This was especially important, as there was little information available in the current literature since marijuana only became legal in Canada in 2018.

“I can tell if someone is a heavy or a long-time cigarette smoker when I look at a CT scan. 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?” says Revah, a radiologist at The Ottawa Hospital, where the research was conducted.

Pulmonary Emphysema in Marijuana and Tobacco Smokers

Pulmonary emphysema in (A, B) marijuana and (C, D) tobacco smokers. (A) Axial and (B) coronal CT images in a 44-year-old male marijuana smoker show paraseptal emphysema (arrowheads) in bilateral upper lobes. (C) Axial and (D) coronal CT images in a 66-year-old female tobacco smoker with centrilobular emphysema represented by areas of centrilobular lucency (arrowheads). Credit: Radiological Society of North America

“What’s unique about this study is that it there hasn’t been anything comparing the imaging findings in tobacco smokers to marijuana smokers before. 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 U.S. states, which is why I think we were the first to do a project like this.”

Despite the small sample size, Revah’s findings suggest that marijuana smokers saw additional effects on the lungs above tobacco alone, including more instances of large and small airway diseases.

“We’ve identified an association between marijuana smoking and damage to both the small and the large airways,” she said. “We still need more research before we can affect policy change. We need larger, more robust prospective studies with more patients to confirm it.”

Reference: “Chest CT Findings in Marijuana Smokers” by Luke Murtha, Paul Sathiadoss, Jean-Paul Salameh, Matthew D. F. Mcinnes and Giselle Revah, 15 November 2022, Radiology. DOI: 10.1148/radiol.212611

[1Old Pro]

Must be defective filters on the joints

[Mogger]

Makes sense. Pot smokers usually take deeper drags of it and hold the stuff in their lungs as long as they can.

But would they care if staying stoned enough?

[LukeL]

I was told that COPD never occurred in marijuana smokers and only tobacco can cause such lung damage.

[Jess Kitting]

I don't understand why people need to smoke weed.

Can't they just take it in pill form?

I usually get mine through cupcakes.

[Telepathic Intruder]

When you hold the smoke in your lungs for as long as you can for maximum effect, you get the maximum negative effect as well.

[DannyTN]

That’s only because some pot smokers develop schizophrenia so then they count for 2 or more.

[steve86]

How about vaping? No combustion products.

[Red Badger]

I usually get mine through cupcakes.

And get all those empty calories???.......That's bad for you health!..................

[steve86]

They do hold it in but it’s been shown that most of the absorption occurs in the first few seconds. No point in holding it in.

[lee martell]

Any ‘lift off’ or intoxication effect usually takes longer when you eat it vs smoke it.

[Sacajaweau]

Marijuana is good....it’s government approved!!

[Republican Wildcat]

Yes, we’ve been told a lot of things - that being a pothead will cure just about every disease.

Breathing in smoke from something burning causes lung damage...at least with tobacco we don’t get people becoming violent from brain damage, however.

[Red Badger]

Columbian Government?.................

[Eccl 10:2]

I used to like the action of smoking. Plus, I found the smell pleasant, if not unmistakable.

[Col Frank Slade]

Maybe more accurate to say emphysema more extensive in marijuana vs cigarette smokers.

[central_va]

Modern pot smell like a dead skunk in the rotting in the July sun.

[Bikkuri]

I'd ask my neighbor across from me, but he wouldn't remember the question 😲

[central_va]

Marilyn Monroe's xray

[lee martell]

That smell stays in your clothing and your upholstered furniture for a long time. So there’s that to keep in mind.
I had the same experience when I tried Gauloises, that
French cigarette made with cloves. Suddenly, everything smelt like black licorice, and for a couple of days. Lesson learned.