Cannabis smoke more toxic than puffing tobacco

[Pothead]

Cannabis smokers are exposed to more toxic chemicals in each puff than those who smoke only tobacco, scientists have found. Earlier research shows cannabis smokers are more prone to lung damage than cigarette smokers.

In tests, directly inhaled cannabis smoke contained 20 times more ammonia than cigarette smoke, five times more hydrogen cyanide and five times the concentration of nitrogen oxides, which affect circulation and the immune system.

Researchers led by David Moir at Health Canada investigated after noting there are 4,000 chemicals and toxins listed for tobacco smoke but no such list for cannabis.

They set up machines that "smoke" the plants and collect the fumes.

The scientists first analysed smoke that would be inhaled directly, but later examined "sidestream smoke", which accounts for 85% of the fumes you inhale if you sit next to a smoker. This smoke contained higher levels of almost every toxin measured, except for compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which were more concentrated in directly inhaled cigarette smoke.

The chemicals combine to cause harmful health effects. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have been linked to reproductive disorders and cancer, while, at high levels, ammonia can cause asthma.

"Cannabis contains similar carcinogens to tobacco, in particular volatile organic compounds," Stephen Spiro of the British Lung Foundation told New Scientist magazine.

"That these exist in similar or even higher proportions to tobacco smoke is a great worry."

In July scientists in New Zealand reported that smoking a single cannabis joint could cause as much lung damage as five chain-smoked cigarettes. Much of the damage is believed to be caused by smokers inhaling cannabis more deeply than tobacco and holding it in up to four times as long.


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is this just another scare tack tick or is there some truth to this?

peace

[Blazing Glory]

Unfortunately, not every piece of news can be good mate. I've always considered smoking weed slightly more risky than fags. I always use a roach in my joints, so I miss out on that little extra bit of protection from a filter.

Let's be honest though, we've all known for years that smoking anything isn't a good idea in the long run. As far as I can see this is just another reason for me to save my pennies for a Volcano.

[Pothead]

why not start using filters? they don't stop THC etc = you get just as high, but it dose cut down on tar etc

its upto you but i would untill you become a happy volcano owner:D

peace

[Blazing Glory]

I don't know why I don't use filters. I've got a bunch of them in my box of tricks but I always always use a roach. I think somebody told me that the THC can't get through a filter when I first started rolling but thinking about it, that's probaby rubbish. When I get home I'm going to roll a joint with a filter. For purely scientific, experimental reasons of course ;)

[max_freakout]

why not start using filters? they don't stop THC etc = you get just as high, but it dose cut down on tar etc

its upto you but i would untill you become a happy volcano owner:D

peace



personally i think filters are a silly gimmick to make tobacco-smokers feel a bit better about themselves, they dont substantially filter anything out

[Blazing Glory]

In the name of science and fact, I hereby certify that using a filter DOES NOT impede your ability to get f***ed. :p

[druidude]

Good job you can cook with it, bake, ingest, and vapourise it.

But come on guys this is more reefer madness bullshit show me the science and even if there is one iota of truth in it like the schizophrenia bull**** if you actually look at the percents its minimal.

And still far less dangerous then alcohol or tobacco

Still no reason to imprison people for using it.The fact that it is criminalised is the real risk to our societies health

[greengoddess11]

One of my friends who is a stoner doctor says he has never seen a single patient who had a chronic illness because of smoking pot. According to him most people wind up with lifestyle diseases because of alcohol, cigarettes, being overweight, or some combination of those things.

Also, most people couldn't possibly smoke anywhere NEAR the same amount of pot as they do tobacco. Could you imagine smoking 20-30 joints every day???:D
Ok, maybe a lot of us could imagine trying to...he he.

From what I've heard, pure tobacco is not all that bad either ...it's the nasty additives the cigarette companies put in to keep you addicted that make people sick.

[greengoddess11]

Just wanted to add that as a former cigarette smoker, I can absolutely tell the difference in my own health since quitting. Smoking pot , on the other hand, seems to have no negative effect on my health that I can notice. I've been smoking pot pretty regularly since I was 15, so that makes it 20 years or so:eek: Generally I am never sick...but when I smoked cigarettes it seemed like I was always coming down with sore throats and and catching colds and sinus infections, there was also no way I could exercise the way I do now. The list goes on... I'm sure lots of us have been both pot and cigarette guinea pigs and can tell the difference. Stuff like this is just put out there to scare us...just say NOOOOOOO to this kind of BS!!! :p

[Ostritt]

I think the obvious solution if this is true is for everyone to mix tobacco into their joints :D By my calculations (available on request), the two effects should balance each other out.

[pete21]

I would not necessarily accept the findings of this study as accurate. It seems to me if this were the case we would have heard about it before now. This doesn't jibe with the impressions I have from other studies.

But assuming it is true, many who smoke tobacco will smoke a pack a day, 20 cigs. The biggest pothead here smokes what, 4 joints a day?

Finally, by its nature, I don't think others are as likely to be around second-hand pot smoke. Any of you burning one in front of your kids, or parents, or anyone else who isn't also partaking?

Still, smoke is not good. I'm very happy to be vaping.

[Pothead]

i agree its a bit 50/50 if this is right or not, im going to wait and see what happens with this before i make my mined up, when i was a smoker (before i got a volcano), i was on about 10 joints or so a day (what a waste of weed):eek: its one of the reasons i got my name;)


peace

[Podders]

Cannabis smokers are exposed to more toxic chemicals in each puff than those who smoke only tobacco, scientists have found.

Which scientists and where?

[queerninja]

The biggest pothead here smokes what, 4 joints a day?



Hhhmmm....on a good day with nothing to do? Nah, I could squeeze alot more than that in :D

[cannawarrior]

this is old news and is recycled every few years as governments and police love spreading this propaganda and the media are happy to play along because it makes good headlines.

Its true that smoking anything is probably bad for you, but this report is still total bullshit.

They set up machines that "smoke" the plants and collect the fumes.

OK so they got a plant and put it in a smoking machine did they? What kinda plant? male? female? hermie? still in veg or fully flowered? Did they dry the plant out before putting in this machine? Its certainly not surprising that a whole undried plant still in veg would produce some very nasty smoke, which would be nothing like the type of smoke most stoners inhale.

So I guess for those of you who smoke stems and leaf this study may be of some relevance. But for those of us who like to smoke dried buds from properly flowered female plants it doesn't have any relevance at all IMO. And even less relevance to those of us who vaporise or ingest as has already been pointed out.

I've never come across a stoner that likes to smoke stem myself. :confused:

[pete21]

Hhhmmm....on a good day with nothing to do? Nah, I could squeeze alot more than that in :D

But have you ever smoked 20 doobies in a day? More importantly, every day? That would be quite a tolerance!

When I was in the 'dam in October, a friend and her friend from California were in town for a couple of days. Her friend complained that the pot in A'dam was crap compared to the hydroponic stuff he was getting in California. Of course he never bought any, just smoked mine. I finally had to explain that the best weed is that weed you pay for. He refused to take the hint. But if you can't get off in A'dam, that's your failure, not the 'dam weed.

There's so much bullshit propaganda out there. You know those reports that say that today's pot is 20 times stronger than pot from the late 1960s. They apparently determined this by comparning todays pot to some pot that has been storage in some evidence room since the late 60s. Hmmm, what a surprise, almost 40-year-old weed stored probably at room temperature doesn't have much of a kick left, therefore we can spread the word to the baby-boomers that their kids are smoking "super-pot" 20 times stronger than the pot they smoked.

So many lies.

[cannawarrior]

There's so much bullshit propaganda out there. You know those reports that say that today's pot is 20 times stronger than pot from the late 1960s. They apparently determined this by comparning todays pot to some pot that has been storage in some evidence room since the late 60s. Hmmm, what a surprise, almost 40-year-old weed stored probably at room temperature doesn't have much of a kick left, therefore we can spread the word to the baby-boomers that their kids are smoking "super-pot" 20 times stronger than the pot they smoked.

So many lies.

yeah man this is another bit of propaganda that they like to recycle.

One of the major factors in leading scientists to think todays weed is stronger is that most of the weed 20 years ago was grown outdoors, and it was pretty common to have a lot of leaf and stem and seed in the bag. When these bags were seized and tested by authorities, they tested the entire contents of the bag, not just the bud which was the only smokable part.

These days with the hydro revolution most of the bud is grown indoors, so the quality and manicuring is a lot better. The best bud now is not any stronger than the best bud 20 years ago. Its just that the average quality is better and there is much less leaf and seed in the average deal bag. So obviously the THC content of the average deal bag these days would be higher, but that doesn't mean the actual bud is any more potent.

I know a lot of people think we presently have the best smoke in history with modern breeding and hydro techniques, but I'm not so sure. I've met many old timers who said they could get gear 20 years ago that would blow your head off, it was just a lot harder to find, and some of the best smoke has been lost forever...

but, aside from that, the more potent the product, the less of it you need. If governments were interested in harm minimisation they'd be helping us breed more potent strains of cannabis so we don't have to smoke as much ;)

[campmasta]

I'm wondering if they dosed the plants up with nutes then a couple days later cut em. You gotta flush. I can't imagine that smoking the nutrients and fertilizers still in the plant can be that good for ya. You guys have all tried it. You know, that weed that burns the back of your throat. Thats probably what they're talkin about. But when in doubt. Vaporize.

[bigdirtyfoot]

I read somewhere a while ago that some of the cannabinoids in cannabis counteract the toxins found in cannabis smoke once inside the human body. Anyone have any other info on this?