Cannabis smoke 'has more toxins' - BBC

[tbeck]

Cannabis smoke 'has more toxins'
Inhaled cannabis smoke has more harmful toxins than tobacco, scientists have discovered. The Canadian government research found 20 times as much ammonia, a chemical linked to cancer, New Scientist said.
The Health Canada team also found five times as much hydrogen cyanide and nitrogen oxides, which are linked to heart and lung damage respectively.
But tobacco smoke contained more of a toxin linked to infertility. Experts said users must be aware of the risks.
About a quarter of the population in the UK smokes tobacco products, while a sixth of 15 to 34-year-olds have tried cannabis in the past year, making it the most commonly used drug.


<table> <tbody><tr> <td width="5">
</td> <td class="fact"> <!--Smva--> The confirmation of the presence of known carcinogens and other chemicals implicated is important information for public health
<!--Emva--> <!--Smva--> David Moir, lead researcher <!--Emva--> </td> </tr> </tbody></table>
Previous research has shown cannabis smoke is more harmful to lungs than tobacco as it is inhaled more deeply and held in the lungs for a longer period.
However, it has also been acknowledged that the average tobacco user smokes more than a cannabis user.
Researchers from Health Canada, the government's health research department, used a smoking machine to analyse the composition of the inhaled smoke for nearly 20 harmful chemicals.
They also looked at the sidestream smoke, given off from the burning tip of the product and responsible for 85% of the smoked inhaled through passive smoking.
Concentrations
In most cases, the comparison on sidestream smoke broadly mirrored that of inhaled smoke.
However, in the case of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the toxin linked to infertility, the researchers found concentrations were actually higher in cigarette smoke.
The study also showed little difference in the concentrations of a range of chemicals, including chromium, nickel, arsenic and selenium.
Lead researcher David Moir said: "The consumption of marijuana through smoking remains a reality and among the young seems to be increasing.
"The confirmation of the presence of known carcinogens and other chemical is important information for public health."
Dr Richard Russell, a specialist at the Windsor Chest Clinic, said: "The health impact of cannabis is often over-looked amid the legal debate.
"Evidence shows it is multiplied when it is cannabis compared to tobacco.
"Tobacco from manufacturers has been enhanced and cleaned whereas cannabis is relatively unprocessed and therefore is a much dirtier product.
"These findings do not surprise me. The toxins from cannabis smoke cause lung inflammation, lung damage and cancer."
Stephen Spiro, of the British Lung Foundation, added the findings were "a great worry".



Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...th/7150274.stm

Published: 2007/12/19 01:02:10 GMT

© BBC MMVII

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7150274.stm

- no link to 'study' noted.

just figured it post this here...

[murderouspanda]

Previous research has shown cannabis smoke is more harmful to lungs than tobacco as it is inhaled more deeply and held in the lungs for a longer period.

yea

[.Ret3p^]

What does Britain know?

[Buzzwell420]

whos growing there weed?


amonia what would that be used for.....am i that ingnorant

[mrk195smokin]

wow.....

[Smokinscientist]

Tobacco from manufacturers has been enhanced and cleaned whereas cannabis is relatively unprocessed and therefore is a much dirtier product

Eum, yeah right, so weed is bad for you,...because it may be dirty? So we should legalize it so we can regulate and clean the weed?

..and I almost believed it for a second or two..

[Buzzwell420]

Originally Posted by Smokinscientist

Eum, yeah right, so weed is bad for you,...because it may be dirty? So we should legalize it so we can regulate and clean the weed?

..and I almost believed it for a second or two..

tabaco has been cleaned.....thats why it has all those chemicals in it.


most chemicals in tabaco come from pesticides...and the reprocessing stems and sheet tabaco


it just doesnt make sense that it would have more chemicals, they dont just occurr natural

[amsterdamage]

Sounds like they didn't flush the plants prior to harvesting, all that nitrogen and crap is straight from the fertilizers!


Researchers have known for years that marijuana smoke contains carcinogens, what they still don't fully understand is why the carcinogens in marijuana smoke don't cause cancer.

"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."

"The smoke from burning marijuana leaves contains several known carcinogens and the tar it creates contains 50 percent more of some of the chemicals linked to lung cancer than tobacco smoke. A marijuana cigarette also deposits four times as much of that tar as an equivalent tobacco one. Scientists were therefore surprised to learn that a study of more than 2,000 people found no increase in the risk of developing lung cancer for marijuana smokers."

"Earlier work established that marijuana does contain cancer-causing chemicals as potentially harmful as those in tobacco, he said. However, marijuana also contains the chemical THC, which he said may kill aging cells and keep them from becoming cancerous." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...501729_pf.html

[shankeroo]

"About a quarter of the population in the UK smokes tobacco products, while a sixth of 15 to 34-year-olds have tried cannabis in the past year, making it the most commonly used drug."

whoever wrote the report was definitely biased, tobacco is a drug too and therefore would be much more commonly used than cannabis. though these statistics are further skewed by the fact that they measure use in different audiences. Obviously the overall percentage of cannabis users would be lower if the surveyed all the age groups.

[juicyjay]

To the people who actually believe this garbage..read this: http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabi..._health2.shtml ( I know its long but its worth it)