Last Updated on April 9, 2024 by Partha Protim Choudhury
Weed or marijuana smoke contains many harmful chemicals and compounds, which are also found in tobacco smoke. Compared to non-smokers, smokers have a 15–30 times increased chance of getting lung cancer or dying from it. Lung cancer risk increases even by smoking a few cigarettes a day or occasionally. Let’s find out the effects of weed on weed smoker’s lungs, the different methods of consuming weed, and its health risks.
What is weed? What does weed do to your blood?
Marijuana also has names such as weed, herb, pot, grass, dope, bud, ganja, Mary Jane, and a vast number of other slang terms—is a greenish-grey mixture of the dried flowers of the Cannabis sativa plant.
If you vape or smoke weed, the compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) could get into your bloodstream quickly enough for you to get high in seconds or minutes. An individual experiences can increase in heart rate, dilation and relaxation of the breathing passages, and enlargement of the blood vessels in the eyes, resulting in bloodshot eyes.
The heart rate usually increases by 20 to 50 beats per minute or may even double in some cases. In addition, taking any kind of THC is likely to enhance your hunger. As a result, this may take many hours for you to fully sober up.
What are the chances of lung cancer in weed smokers?
The relationship between smoking weed and cancer is not as clear-cut as it is with tobacco smoking. While smoking marijuana does produce some of the same cancer-causing chemicals as tobacco smoke, such as tar and carbon monoxide, research on the link between smoking marijuana and cancer is still ongoing and inconclusive.
Smoked marijuana, regardless of how it is smoked, can harm lung tissues and cause scarring and damage to small blood vessels. Smoking marijuana can also increase the likelihood of developing bronchitis, coughing, and mucus production. However, after marijuana smokers quit, these symptoms usually improve. It’s crucial to remember that not everyone who uses tobacco or marijuana will get lung cancer. A weed smoker’s lungs can be at risk because of a variety of factors, including genetics and other lifestyle choices. The longer someone has smoked and the more cigarettes they smoke each day, the higher the risk.
More research is necessary to understand the specific effects of smoking marijuana on lung health and other respiratory diseases like emphysema (a lung condition that causes shortness of breath) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Does tobacco smoking increase the risk of oral cancer?
The most widely used type of tobacco in the world is cigarettes. Smoking cigarettes can cause cancer practically everywhere in the body. Cigarette or tobacco smokers are at higher risk of oral cancer. Cancer risk can be reduced by controlling tobacco smoking. In addition to causing acute myeloid leukaemia, smoking cigarettes can cause cancer of the mouth, throat, oesophagus, stomach, colon, rectum, liver, pancreas, voicebox (larynx), lung, trachea, bronchus, kidney and renal pelvis, urinary bladder, and cervix.
Lung cancer risk is higher for those who stop smoking than for those who never smoked, although it is still lower for those who quit smoking. At any age, quitting smoking can lower the risk of lung cancer.
Does marijuana cause health risks other than cancer?
Yes, marijuana edibles are food products that contain cannabis. These products come in a variety of different forms and can include baked goods, candies, gummies, chocolates, lozenges, and beverages. These edibles can be homemade or prepared commercially for dispensaries.
The effects of marijuana edibles last a lot longer than smoking them, as seen in blood reports showing peak THC blood levels occurring around 3 hours after consumption. Edible weed is that can result in cardiac ischemia in susceptible individuals and cognitive performance is altered in brain. Consuming too much weed edibles may lead to adverse effects, including panic attacks though believed to relieve pain and anxiety, support weight management which need more research to substantiate the same. Cannabis has potentially detrimental effects on cognition, brain and heart functioning outcomes that persist beyond acute intoxication. Some studies have suggested a potential association between long-term heavy marijuana smoking and an increased risk of certain cancers, such as lung cancer and testicular cancer. However, other studies have found no such association, and the evidence has been inconsistent.
Additionally, many factors can influence the risk of cancer, including the method of marijuana consumption in various forms other than smoking, such as edibles, vaping, tinctures, and oils and their frequency and duration of use, individual genetic predispositions, and lifestyle factors.
Overall, more research is necessary to fully understand the potential links between smoking marijuana and weed smoker’s lungs. However, it’s generally advisable to avoid smoking anything, including marijuana, due to the known health risks associated with inhaling smoke.
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