Smoking cannabis does not present the same risks as smoking tobacco, according to a study

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has just published a study revealing that smoking cannabis does not carry the the same risks as smoking tobacco.

For four years, researchers studied people who use cannabis, whether they had already used it or had never used it. They then determined their risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Longitudinal data published in the magazine Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases have shown that cannabis use is not associated with an increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), even among individuals at clinically high risk of developing the disease. The study’s researchers assessed the relationship between cannabis use and the development of COPD in a cohort of middle-aged and older participants who smoked or had previously smoked tobacco cigarettes. They found that neither past nor current cannabis use was associated with signs of COPD progression or the development of the disease.

COPD is the name given to a group of lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties. It primarily affects middle-aged or older adults who smoke. Breathing problems tend to worsen gradually over time and can limit normal activities, although treatment can help manage the disease.

«In [this] cohort of tobacco smokers with a history of ≥20 pack-years who have established COPD or are at risk of developing COPD, followed for an average of more than four years, a history of current and/or past cannabis use, regardless of the cumulative amount over a lifetime, was not associated with a significantly deleterious impact on the progression of COPD,» stated the study authors. «Among tobacco smokers in the same cohort who did not have COPD at the time of enrollment, concomitant cannabis use—including heavy use—was not associated with an increased risk of subsequently developing COPD.»

In another recent longitudinal study conducted by the University of Queensland in Australia, a cohort of 1,173 young adults aged 21 to 30—who smoked cannabis, tobacco, both, or neither—was followed over a nine-year period. The results, published in the magazine Respiratory Medicine, revealed a correlation between tobacco smoking and reduced airflow. People who smoked only cigarettes or who combined cigarettes with cannabis showed a decrease in airflow. However, cannabis use did not exacerbate these reductions. Even after nine years of use, exposure to cannabis smoke did not appear to affect the lungs or respiratory function of the study participants.