Study: Cannabis smokers inhale fewer toxins than cigarette smokers

by druginc

Study: Cannabis smokers inhale fewer toxins than cigarette smokers

When it comes to toxins entering the body during a smoking session, tobacco smokers ingest more than people who only use cannabis.

That's the conclusion of a recent study published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, which found that people who smoke regular weed have fewer toxic health risks compared to tobacco smokers or those who mix it.

A toxic substance — compared to a toxin, which occurs naturally — is a man-made toxic chemical found in cigarette additives and other industrial products.

In the study, researchers at the University of Minnesota compared differences in exposure to toxic substances between three types of smokers. One group smoked both cannabis as tobacco, and the other groups smoked only tobacco or only cannabis.

Researchers recruited 53 smokers and measured toxic levels among the groups through breath and urine tests taken in the morning after a smoking session.

To qualify for the study, stoners had to smoke weed at least once a week and cigarette smokers had to smoke more than five cigarettes a day.

The study found that people from the two tobacco-containing groups had higher levels of exhaled carbon monoxide, which have been reported in systemic diseases and seen in respiratory diseases, most likely due to localized inflammation in the body.

Only cannabis smokers inhale 'significantly' lower levels of harmful toxins

Although marijuana-only users are exposed to significantly lower levels of harmful compounds than cigarette smokers, they are still exposed to higher levels of toxins than someone who doesn't smoke at all.

All groups showed the same levels for phenanthrene tetraol, a compound found in the urine of smokers after ingesting phenanthrene, described as non-toxic and non-carcinogenic.

Studies suggest that some people are able to get rid of chemicals like phenanthrene tetraol without any problems, while others incur damage to their cells that eventually lead to cancer.

The study also explains that cannabis users sometimes presented toxic substances found in cigarette smokers, and this may be due to unknowingly using tobacco with weed at the same time, given the lack of easy access to cannabis, or mixing it into blunts or spliffs.

Cannabis smokers inhale 'significantly' lower levels of harmful toxins (fig.)
Cannabis smokers inhale 'significantly' lower levels of harmful toxins (afb.)

Tobacco smokers showed higher levels of potent lung carcinogen NNAL, a toxic substance commonly found in cigarettes that has been shown to cause cancer in previous studies.

Another toxicant found to be higher in the tobacco groups was 2-HPMA, a molecule released into the urine after exposure to propylene oxide, a mutagenic and carcinogenic agent.

According to the US National Cancer Institute, of the more than 7.000 chemicals in tobacco smoke, at least 250 are known to be harmful, including hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide and ammonia.

Sources ao Academic (EN), healthline (EN), Mugglehead (EN), WestWord (EN)

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