In a recent International conference at the American Thoracic Conference a study was presented to an audience that showed how the smoking of marijuana and cigarettes significantly increases the possibility of COPD. COPD means chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the chance of this disease developing increases with those who smoke marijuana and cigarettes.
In an area in Vancouver a study was undertaken to experiment this theory. They discovered that those who smoke cigarettes and marijuana that are over 40 years of age are almost 4 times more likely to develop the COPD than smokers who just smoke cigarettes alone. Saint Paul's Hospital in Vancouver clarified this, and by smoking both marijuana and cigarettes simply has a one third more likeliness of this disease from developing than those who smoke only cigarettes.
Marijuana smoking is on the increase as well as cigarette smoking. Where the study was undertaken in Vancouver it was found out that out of all the cigarette smokers within the ages of 17-40, 75% have tried smoking marijuana out of all smokers of cigarettes. With older smokers of cigarettes the percentage was slightly less although, with approximately 55% of cigarette smokers admitting to smoking marijuana as well. These figures brings public health once again into the limelight and extreme concerns are floating around regarding the future health of these smokers, especially those that smoke marijuana and cigarettes.
Many thought before that the constant smoking of cigarettes would have a more disastrous affect on us than to what marijuana causes. Both are very dangerous substances if abused, as proven with the extensive use of cigarettes and the outcome it has on our body, I don’t think I have to go through where years of cigarette smoking leads to. Cigarette smokers have to be a little bit more careful now with this latest finding on smoking cigarettes and marijuana.
