Dangers of Smoking Marijuana Compared to Tobacco

Many tobacco smokers had been persuaded to quit for fear of cancer, coughing, and shortness of breath. There are also people who could not quit smoking because they claim it calms their nerves. The question applies to marijuana smokers if they should be similarly concerned as that of tobacco smokers. However, based on clinical, genetic, and cellular studies, it had been suggested that a dangerous link exist between marijuana and cancer development, specifically in the respiratory system.

Based on the studies, many cancer-causing or carcinogenic compounds found in tobacco are also in marijuana, particularly when the plant is burned. The unfiltered smoke from joints contains higher concentrations of chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as compared to smoke from tobacco. Marijuana smokers generally expose more of their lungs to higher levels of dangerous substance since they inhale more deeply than tobacco smokers. A preliminary research has also suggested a link between using marijuana and cancer development in the lungs as higher levels of an enzyme converts PAHs to a cancer-causing form. Therefore, it is not surprising that smoking marijuana is linked as a risk factor for lung, mouth, and throat cancers.

The reports that have linked marijuana and cancer suggest that marijuana smokers obtain greater risk of cancer development in tissues that are directly in contact with smoke such as in the mouth, larynx, pharynx, esophagus, and lungs. On the other hand, such reports were only based from series of case reports rather than finding evidences based from controlled studies. Therefore, the effect of marijuana and cancer development cannot be attributed solely on marijuana; cancer development may also be linked to other factors including tobacco smoking.

At the time writing, only one large study on attribution of marijuana and cancer development has initiated efforts in determining the frequency in which smokers of marijuana are struck with cancer. The study on marijuana and cancer attribution had included 65,000 men and women with ages15 and 49. Among these subjects, cases of cancer totaled to 1,421 where usage of marijuana and other type of cancer are also linked to smoking tobacco.

On the other hand, the study on marijuana and cancer association was limited to the factor that most of the participants were younger that the average ages when cancers appear. It has also been limited by the short duration of smoking marijuana. For instance, the development of lung cancer is usually evident only after the exposure to smoking; more so, few users of marijuana continue smoking the drug for more than a few years simultaneously with smoking tobacco.

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