Adolescents who vaporize cannabis are at greater risk for respiratory symptoms that indicate lung injury than teens who smoke cigarettes or marijuana, or nicotine vape, a new study from the University of Michigan suggests.
The result disputes conventional wisdom about the evaporation of nicotine, says lead researcher Carol Boyd, the Deborah J. Oakley Collegiate Professor Emerita at the UM School of Nursing.
“I thought e-cigarettes (vaping nicotine) would be the nicotine product most strongly associated with worrying breathing symptoms,” she said. ‘Our data contradict the assumption that smoking cigarettes or evaporating nicotine is the most harmful to the lungs. If we find control over the evaporation of cannabis in our analyzes, there is a weaker link between the use of e-cigarette or cigarette and respiratory symptoms compared to the evaporation of cannabis. ”
Boyd, who is also co-conductor of UM’s Center for Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health, stressed that the findings do not mean that the evaporation of nicotine or the smoking of cigarettes or marijuana is not bad for you. These products also produce symptoms of lung injury, but not to the same extent as marijuana vaping, she said.
“In short, it’s all bad, but if you also evaporate cannabis, you have a greater number of unhealthy breathing symptoms than if you just smoked cigarettes or marijuana or e-cigarette vape,” Boyd said. “Cigarettes and e-cigarettes are undoubtedly unhealthy and not good for the lungs. But vaping marijuana looks even worse. ”
Boyd and colleague Philip Veliz, UM research assistant in nursing, wanted to investigate the association of unhealthy breathing symptoms among American adolescents who currently use cigarettes, e-cigarettes or cannabis and who vaporize cannabis within their lifetime.
Adolescents who reported marijuana vaping were about twice as likely to report ‘wheezing and whistling’ in the chest as those who did not. Current use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and marijuana has been associated with some respiratory symptoms, such as dry cough, but most associations were not significant after being controlled for the evaporation of cannabis.
The researchers also found that an asthma diagnosis is most strongly associated with symptoms of future lung injury such as cigarettes, e-cigarettes, cannabis use and vaping cannabis.
One study limitation is that the researchers did not look at co-use of vaping cannabis and the use of cigarettes or e-cigarettes.
“Future studies need to evaluate whether it is the combination of nicotine and marijuana evaporation that is causing so many breathing problems,” Veliz said. “It could be the combination of cannabis vaping and cigarette smoking that leads to the high doses of breathing symptoms among juvenile marijuana vapers.”
Boyd and Feliz looked at symptoms that were self-reported from a sample of teens between the ages of 12 and 17, from the 2016-2018 Wave of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study. Symptoms were: wheezing and wheezing in the chest; disturbed sleep or restricted speech due to wheezing; wheezing during or after exercise; and dry cough at night not associated with breast diseases or infections.
Reference: “Cannabis, Vaping, and Respiratory Symptoms in a Probability Sample of American Juveniles” 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 for Adolescent Health.
DOI: 10.1016 / j.jadohealth.2021.01.019