LUNGS—YOU ONLY HAVE TWO –
Nov. 17, 2022 – Over 3 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with the potentially deadly disease despite it being one of the most preventable respiratory illnesses, according to the American Lung Association.
Researchers from the Department of Radiology at Ottawa Hospital found that 75% of the people in the study who smoked marijuana, potentially alongside tobacco, had developed emphysema, while just 67% of the tobacco-only smokers showed signs of the disease. Only 5% of complete nonsmokers were diagnosed.
Furthermore, they saw that paraseptal emphysema, a specific subtype of the disease that affects the outermost parts of the lung, was more common among marijuana smokers compared to those who only smoke tobacco.
The study reviewed chest scans of 56 marijuana smokers — 50 of whom were also current or former tobacco users — 33 tobacco-only smokers and 57 nonsmokers, taken between 2005 to 2020.
