A new study has revealed that daily marijuana use increases the risk of developing asthma and other respiratory complications, affecting both younger and older adults alike.
The research, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco, found that people who inhale cannabis daily face a 44% higher likelihood of acquiring asthma.
The study also linked marijuana inhalation to a 27% increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Crucially, the findings apply even to individuals who have never smoked cigarettes. For this group, daily marijuana inhalation was associated with a 51% increased likelihood of developing asthma.
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The link to COPD was also observed but was not deemed statistically significant.
Researchers defined inhalation as smoking, vaping, or “dabbing”—a method involving vapourised concentrated cannabis.
The data, which came from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System, analysed over 380,000 adult participants, including nearly 222,000 who had never used tobacco.
The study found that as the frequency of cannabis use increased, from zero to 30 days in a month, the odds of asthma and COPD rose significantly.
Stratified analysis showed that cannabis inhalation was associated with asthma among adults both under and over 35 years of age.
Assistant professor at UCSF and first author of the paper, Dr Alison Rustagi, said the perception that cannabis is less harmful than tobacco has caused many to underestimate its health risks.
“If people are looking to reduce their likelihood of developing a chronic lung disease, they should not start using cannabis. And if they already smoke cannabis, they should do it less often, “Rustagi explained.
Experts warn that the broad legalisation of marijuana across much of the United States (US) has contributed to widespread misconceptions about its safety.
They stress the need for greater awareness of the potential respiratory harms associated with inhaled cannabis.
