According to an article at Science Daily, a paper published in the January 2008 issue of Respirology claims that marijuana smokers incur lung damage at a faster rate than do tobacco smokers. The study, titled "Bullous Lung Disease due to Marijuana," found that the mean age for marijuana smokers to develop billous lung disease (a condition whereby air becomes trapped in the lungs and causes breath blockage and destruction of lung tissue) was 41, compared to 65 years of age for cigarette smokers.
I'm not saying smoking weed is right or wrong--sitting on the couch, eating a bag of chips and going to bed early is probably healthier than sticking a needle in your arm or getting curb-stomped down at the local watering hole because you were dancing with Leroy's girl, and it seems fair to say that pot smokers rarely wake up in jail or the hospital. But still, who wants to be a 41 year old with a debilitating lung disease?
4 comments:
This is interesting to me, since it seems common to believe that smoking weed isn't as bad for you as the ol' tobac. The reason I tend to believe this is that people generally don't smoke pot as frequently as tobacco. But then, many of my pot-smoking pals are quite regular in their usage, and have been for years. So I guess that logic goes right out the window. Ironically, weed may be the cause of but also solution to my requisite worry.
I'm curious about the frequency of use of smokers in the study. I'm sure if you smoke pot like once a week or something you're probably not going to develop lung disease at age 41. But who am I, Dr. Fancypants or something?
I agree, Dr. Fancypants. That information would be pretty useful. I usually criticize people for citing studies they haven't actually read, but I'm just as bad in that regard.
Vote in my poll, guys. The pony you've always wanted is getting its ass kicked.
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