Toxins in marijuana smoke can be harmful to health, according to study

Toxins in marijuana smoke can be harmful to health, according to study

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People who only smoked marijuana had higher blood and urine levels of various smoking-related toxins, such as naphthalene, acrylamide and acrylonitrile, than non-smokers, according to the study published on Monday in the journal EClinicalMedicine.

“Marijuana use is increasing in the United States, with an increasing number of states legalizing it for medical and non-medical purposes – including five additional states in the 2020 election,” said senior author, Dr. Dana Gabuzda, principal investigator in cancer immunology and virology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston in a statement.

“The increase has renewed concerns about the potential health effects of marijuana smoke, which is known to contain some of the same toxic combustion products found in tobacco smoke,” said Gabuzda.

Tobacco smokers

The new research presented data from three studies with 245 HIV-positive and HIV-negative participants. The researchers said they chose to study people with HIV infection because of the high prevalence of smoking and marijuana typically found in this population.

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The medical records were compared to blood and urine samples of various chemicals produced by breaking down nicotine or combustion of tobacco or marijuana.

Tobacco and marijuana smokers had higher levels of naphthalene, acrylamide and acrylonitrile than smokers exclusively of marijuana. Tobacco smokers also had increased levels of a chemical called acrolein in their blood and urine. Acrolein is a known contributor to cardiovascular disease in tobacco smokers.

Marijuana smokers, however, did not have higher levels of acrolein in their bodies.

“This is the first study to compare exposure to acrolein and other harmful chemicals related to smoking over time in cannabis smokers and smokers, and to see if these exposures are related to cardiovascular disease,” said Gabuzda.

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Acrolein is a chemical substance with a sweet, pungent and burnt odor, created by burning fuels such as gasoline or oil and organic matter such as tobacco. The chemical is not added to cigarettes; acrolein is produced by burning sugars present in tobacco when smoked.

Short-term exposure to acrolein can cause irritation and congestion of the upper respiratory tract. At extreme levels, it can be toxic to humans after oral, dermal or inhalation exposures, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Marijuana smokers

While marijuana smokers had higher amounts of naphthalene, acrylamide and acrylonitrile in their blood and urine than non-smokers, even higher levels were found in people who smoked tobacco or a combination of marijuana and tobacco.

Acrylamide is a chemical used to make paper, plastics and dyes, but it is also produced when vegetables such as potatoes are heated to high temperatures. It is also a component of tobacco smoke.

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“People are exposed to substantially more acrylamide from tobacco smoke than from food. People who smoke have three to five times higher levels of markers of exposure to acrylamide in their blood than non-smokers,” said the National Cancer Institute.
According to the American Cancer Society, the International Cancer Research Agency classifies acrylamide as a “likely human carcinogen”, while the United States National Toxicology Program states that it is “reasonably expected to be a human carcinogen”, with based on animal studies.
Acrylonitrile is commonly used in the plastics and fiber manufacturer. “Smoking can be a significant source of indoor air pollution from acrylonitrile,” according to the World Health Organization.
Symptoms of acrylonitrile poisoning include “limb weakness, difficult and irregular breathing, dizziness and difficulty in judgment, cyanosis, nausea, collapse and seizures”, the US Environmental Protection Agency said. And a “statistically significant increase in the incidence of lung cancer has been reported in several studies of chronically exposed workers.”

The EPA classifies acrylonitrile as a “likely human carcinogen”.

Naphthalene, used in naphthalene, can cause “headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, malaise, confusion, anemia, jaundice, seizures and coma,” according to the EPA.
The highest concentrations of naphthalene in indoor air occur in smokers ‘homes, said the United States’ Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

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