Teens who use cannabis on steam are at higher risk for respiratory symptoms indicative of lung injury than teenagers who smoke cigarettes or marijuana or nicotine on steam, suggests a new study from the University of Michigan.
The result challenges conventional wisdom about vaporizing nicotine, says the study’s principal investigator, Carol Boyd, Collegiate Professor Emeritus Deborah J. Oakley of the UM School of Nursing.
“I thought that electronic cigarettes (nicotine in vapor) would be the nicotine product most strongly associated with worrying respiratory symptoms,” she said. “Our data challenge the assumption that smoking cigarettes or smoking nicotine is the most damaging to the lungs. If we control vaporized cannabis in our analysis, we will find that there is a weaker relationship between the use of electronic cigarettes or cigarettes and respiratory symptoms compared to vaporized cannabis. “
Boyd, who also co-runs the UM Drug, Alcohol, Tobacco and Health Center, emphasized that the findings do not mean that smoking nicotine or smoking cigarettes or marijuana is not bad for you. These products also produce symptoms of lung injury, but not to the same degree as vaporized marijuana, she said.
“In short, it’s all bad, but if you also spray cannabis, you will have a greater number of health-damaging respiratory symptoms than if you just smoke cigarettes or marijuana, or vaporize electronic cigarettes,” said Boyd. “Without a doubt, cigarettes and electronic cigarettes are harmful to health and are not good for the lungs. However, vaporizing marijuana looks even worse. “
Boyd and colleague Philip Veliz, assistant professor of nursing research at UM, wanted to explore the association of health-damaging respiratory symptoms among American teenagers who currently use cigarettes, electronic cigarettes or cannabis and who have vaporized cannabis during their lifetime.
Teens who reported spraying marijuana were approximately twice as likely to report “wheezing and hissing” in the chest than those who did not. Current use of cigarettes, electronic cigarettes and cannabis has been associated with some respiratory symptoms, such as dry cough, but most associations were not significant after controlling for vaporized cannabis.
The researchers also found that an asthma diagnosis was more strongly associated with symptoms of future lung damage than cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, cannabis use and vaporized cannabis.
A limitation of the study is that the researchers did not analyze the concomitant use of vaporized cannabis and the use of cigarettes or e-cigarettes.
“Future studies need to assess whether it is the combination of vaporizing nicotine and cannabis that is creating so many respiratory problems,” said Veliz. “It may be the combination of vaporizing marijuana and smoking cigarettes is what leads to high rates of respiratory symptoms among young marijuana vapers.”
Boyd and Feliz analyzed the self-reported symptoms of a sample of adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years old, from the 2016-2018 Wave Survey of the Population of Tobacco and Health. The symptoms were: wheezing and hissing in the chest; disturbed sleep or limited speech due to wheezing; it sounded wheezing during or after exercise; and dry cough at night not associated with chest disease or infection.
Reference: “Cannabis, Vaping, and Respiratory Symptoms in a Probability Sample of US Youth” by Carol J. Boyd, Ph.D .; Sean Esteban McCabe, Ph.D .; Rebecca J. Evans-Polce, Ph.D. and Philip T. Veliz, Ph.D., March 3, 2021, Journal of Adolescent Health.
DOI: 10.1016 / j.jadohealth.2021.01.019