Pot: More Dangerous?

Strong words of warning for those who smoke pot: British researchers have found that smoking pure cannabis harms your lungs as much as tobacco does. Smoking three cannabis joints a day causes the same damage to the lining of the airways as 20 cigarettes. In fact, the tar from a joint contains 50% more cancer-causing substances than tobacco, says the report, published by the British Lung Foundation. "These statistics will come as a surprise to many people, …

…that there is a greater respiratory burden of carbon monoxide and smoke particulates such as tar than when smoking a similar quantity of tobacco. As with tobacco smoking, the research also shows a possible link between cannabis smoking and emphysema. A survey earlier this year showed that 79% of children believe that cannabis was 'safe,' according to the British Lung Foundation's news release. Only 2% understood correctly that there are health risks associated with smoking pot.