Media Releases and Opportunities
» Go to news mainMedia opportunity: Researchers find that people who smoke both cigarettes and marijuana are 12 times more likely to have emphysema than non‑smokers
People who smoke both marijuana and cigarettes are 12 times more likely than non-smokers to have emphysema, according to preliminary research being presented this week by a Dalhousie University physician at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.
The finding challenges the belief that smoking marijuana is not harmful to the lungs, while adding to limited information on the effects of marijuana smoking and the combined effects of smoking marijuana and cigarettes.
Dr. Jessie Kang, a cardiothoracic radiologist and assistant professor in Dalhousie's Department of Diagnostic Radiology, examined the chest CT images of four patient groups: non-smokers, cigarette smokers, marijuana smokers and combined marijuana and cigarette smokers. Marijuana smokers included in the study had smoked marijuana at least four times a month for two years.
Preliminary findings suggest that those smoking both marijuana and cigarettes had more emphysema -- a condition where the air sacs in the lungs are damaged -- than non-smokers or those who smoke cigarettes alone. This can lead to breathing difficulties and other serious respiratory symptoms.
Combined marijuana and cigarette smokers were three to four times more likely to have airway wall thickening than non-smokers, which can lead to infections, scarring and further airway damage.
Dr. Kang is available to discuss the early results and how further research is needed to identify the long-term effects of smoking marijuana, which has increased in Canada since the legalization of non-medical marijuana in 2018.
-30-
Media contact:
Alison Auld
Senior Research Reporter
Communications, Marketing and Creative Services
Dalhousie University
Cell: 1-902-220-0491
Email: alison.auld@dal.ca
Recent News
- Media opportunity: Being involved in extracurricular activities really does matter when it comes to 'mattering': Dalhousie University research
- Media opportunity: Podcast by Dalhousie researcher and Halifax photographer looks at barriers to Nova Scotia's coastline, decreasing access to waterfronts and problems with litter, marine debris in public coastal areas
- Media opportunity: Dalhousie University researcher pioneers new cancer treatment ‑‑ cutting‑edge CAR‑T cell therapy
- Media opportunity: Research sheds light on the difficulty temporary foreign workers can face in securing permanent residency in P.E.I.
- Media opportunity: World's largest stores of unfrozen freshwater projected to warm and affect cold‑water habitats, geothermal energy resources and drinking water quality : Dalhousie University research
- Media release: Dalhousie University research reveals conservation benefits are doubled for reef sharks and rays in fully protected marine areas that also have strong fisheries management
- Media release: New program partners Dalhousie researcher and IWK Health to tackle violence against women
- Media opportunity: Dalhousie University researchers and an international team identify new strain of mpox virus in Africa that can spread through heterosexual sex and community contact
Comments
comments powered by Disqus