My friends Husband was told by his doctor if he didn't stop smoking weed he would end up with lung cancer. His lungs are trashed from being a daily weed smoker, so yesss
No, there's been no documented link between an increased risk in cancer and smoking marijuana.
edit: Anyone telling you that marijuana is worse because it isn't filtered doesn't know what they're talking about. Filters were designed to prevent many of the chemicals and tar that are added to tobacco (not marijuana) from entering your lungs. Additionally, filters don't really help because smokers compensate by taking deeper inhalations (and covering the holes on top of the filters, preventing them from working).
There is no (i repeat: NONE) scientific literature that points to any association between marijuana and cancer risks, particularly in the lungs. The only carcinogenic material comes from the combustion and burning of paper, like in a joint. There is minimal residue from smoking out of a bowl since the weed must reach a temperature at which it combusts in order for you to smoke it. However, if you used a vaporizer, there would be literally zero carcinogenic risk.
There are actually a few new studies out that point to THC and marijuana having anti-cancer properties in fact.
Cigarettes, on the other hand, are one of the most toxic things on earth that you can put into your body.
Well i would suggest don't smoke at all. But who am i to tell you how to live your life. But smoking weed does effect your health, im not quite sure about cancer but there are some other serious medical effects smoking it a lot. Idk id suggest smoke on special occasions or maybe 1-2 times a week. It would save you money and would help your health a little bit.
yes and marijuana also has other health defects which can drastically altar your life such as depression anxiety heart failure and brain damage it may and most likely will defect any child you have in plan for your future
I am wondering if you smoked a "bowl" of weed, say, once a day, if this would give you the same amount of cancer and health risk as smoking an equivalent amount of cigarettes. I occasionally like to indulge in weed (Please do not judge), and I am wondering if I should cut it out or if it is still okay once in a while (Not every day- I was just using that as a reference to go by.) Thanks.
To answer your question please read entire article below:
Pot Smoking Not Linked to Lung Cancer
Study Shows No Increased Risk for Even the Heaviest Marijuana Smokers
By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDMay 23, 2006 -- People who smoke marijuana do not appear to be at increased risk for developing lung cancerlung cancer, new research suggests.
While a clear increase in cancercancer risk was seen among cigarette smokers in the study, no such association was seen for regular cannabis users.
Even very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000 joints over a lifetime seemed to have no greater risk than infrequent marijuana users or nonusers.
The findings surprised the study’s researchers, who expected to see an increase in cancer among people who smoked marijuana regularly in their youth.
“We know that there are as many or more carcinogens and co-carcinogens in marijuana smoke as in cigarettes,” researcher Donald Tashkin, MD, of UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine tells WebMD. “But we did not find any evidence for an increase in cancer risk for even heavy marijuana smoking.” Carcinogens are substances that cause cancer.
Tashkin presented the findings today at The American Thoracic Society’s 102nd International Conference, held in San Diego.Boomers Reaching Cancer Age
The study population was limited to people who were younger than 60 because people older than that would probably not have used marijuana in their teens and early adult years.
“People who may have smoked marijuana in their youth are just now getting to the age when cancers are being seen,” Tashkin says.
A total of 611 lung cancer patients living in Los Angeles County, and 601 patients with other cancers of the head and neck were compared with 1,040 people without cancer matched for age, sex, and the neighborhood they lived in.
All the participants were asked about lifetime use of marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol, as well as other drugs, their diets, occupation, family history of lung cancer, and socioeconomic status.
The heaviest marijuana users in the study had smoked more than 22,000 joints, while moderately heavy smokers had smoked between 11,000 and 22,000 joints.
While two-pack-a-day or more cigarette smokers were found to have a 20-fold increase in lung cancer risk, no elevation in risk was seen for even the very heaviest marijuana smokers.
The more tobacco a person smoked, the greater their risk of developing lung cancer and other cancers of the head and neck. But people who smoked more marijuana were not at increased risk compared with people who smoked less and people who didn’t smoke at all.
The THC Connection
Studies suggest that marijuana smoke contains 50% higher concentrations of chemicals linked to lung cancerlung cancer than cigarette smoke. Marijuana smokers also tend to inhale deeper than cigarette smokers and hold the inhaled smoke in their lungs longer.
So why isn’t smoking marijuana as dangerous as smoking cigarettes in terms of cancercancer risk?
The answer isn’t clear, but the experts say it might have something to do with tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, which is a chemical found in marijuana smoke.
Cellular studies and even some studies in animal models suggest that THC has antitumor properties, either by encouraging the death of genetically damaged cells that can become cancerous or by restricting the development of the blood supply that feeds tumors, Tashkin tells WebMD.
In a review of the research published last fall, University of Colorado molecular biologist Robert Melamede, PhD, concluded that the THC in cannabis seems to lessen the tumor-promoting properties of marijuana smoke.
The nicotine in tobacco has been shown to inhibit the destruction of cancer-causing cells, Melamede tells WebMD. THC does not appear to do this and may even do the opposite.
While there was a suggestion in the newly reported study that smoking marijuana is weakly protective against lung cancer, Tashkin says the very weak association was probably due to chance.
Cancer risk among cigarette smokers was not influenced by whether or not they also smoked marijuana.
“We saw no interaction between marijuana and tobacco, and we certainly would not recommend that people smoke marijuana to protect themselves against cancer,” he says
There IS a documented risk between smoking weed and cancer. It's just not as high because people don't smoke weed as much as they smoke cigarettes. Since people tend to breathe more deeply and hold their breath longer while smoking weed, the smoke has more time to absorb into the lining of the lungs. So, if you smoke it quite often, I'd say you'd have a good chance of getting cancer...but if it's not too often I wouldn't worry too much about it.