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Liath Guetta (pulmonologist)
Contrary to popular belief, airway inflammation and emphysema are found more frequently in cannabis smokers than in cigarette smokers. Pathologies that also appear earlier.
“Smoking seriously harms health”, everyone knows it. But by extension, by assumption, many people think that smoking cannabis is more natural and less toxic to the lungs than cigarettes and its derivatives. It is not so. A Canadian study has just shown that inflammation of the airways and emphysema are even more common in people who smoke cannabis than in cigarette smokers and non-smokers. Emphysema is a chronic lung condition resulting from the stretching and damage of the air sacs, which has a long-lasting impact on the quality of life of patients, causes chronic cough and causes breathing difficulties.
93% of cannabis smokers in the study suffer from emphysema
The study conducted clearly points to this cause and effect link. 146 participants were classified into 3 groups: 56 cannabis smokers, 57 non-smoking control patients and 33 tobacco smokers only. The researchers then compared CT scan images of cannabis smokers to heavy cigarette smokers and non-smokers of the same age and sex. For a clear result: emphysema was more common in cannabis smokers than in cigarette smokers or non-smokers. “93% of marijuana smokers had emphysema rather than 67% of tobacco-only smokers“pointed Dr. Revah, author of the study, cardiothoracic radiologist at the Ottawa Hospital in Canada.
The researchers also found that cannabis smokers had higher rates of airway inflammation. CT scans showed increased mucus buildup in the airways, thickening of the bronchial wall, and sometimes irreversible widening of the airways. For the researchers, this suggests that differences may be due to the way cannabis is smoked, as cannabis smoke generally enters the lungs unfiltered, which ultimately makes sense.
Better understand the dangers of cannabis on the lungs
Although illegal in France, cannabis is the most commonly smoked substance, after tobacco. According to the latest national figures, in 2020, 46.1% of adults aged 18-64 report having ever used cannabis. But public perception is often wrong when it comes to the dangers of the substance: it may seem safer and more natural.
The newly identified link between cannabis use and irreversible lung damage could mean that cannabis is potentially more harmful than many people realize. The author provides an explanation: cannabis is generally smoked without a filter, while cigarettes (tobacco) are generally filtered. “When marijuana is inhaled, more particles reach the airways and settle.” The way marijuana is inhaled can also play a role: compared to tobacco, smoking cannabis amounts to practicing a longer apnea and a higher puff volume which can lead to microtraumas in the air spaces causing small holes (emphysema).
Cannabis: A real health issue, according to pulmonologists
Dr. Liath Guetta, pulmonologist, and member of the Doctissimo expert committee, knows the subject well, on which she tries to alert young consumers.
“We realize in pulmonology that we have, in fact, more and more young patients, i.e. 40-45 years old, or even younger, who end up with fairly serious respiratory insufficiency, and very advanced emphysema ” she acknowledges.
A health problem that the expert attributes to problematic consumption:
“More than the consumption of cannabis, it is the double consumption of tobacco and cannabis and the regular consumption of cannabis, either at least one joint per day or several times per week, which lead to bubbles of early emphysema in increasingly more people. youth” observes the pulmonologist, who sees more and more young adults going through her department for shortness of breath and respiratory insufficiency linked to cannabis consumption.
A real health issue that should be invested more, and for which it would be urgent to propose alternatives to reduce addiction. Because emphysema is not a trivial consequence.
“One of my last patients had to be transplanted, precisely because of this problem” alerts Dr. Guetta.