Smoking marijuana exposes you to low levels of the same toxic chemicals found in tobacco smoke

Smoking marijuana exposes the body to some of the same toxic chemicals released from tobacco, but at lower levels, according to a new study.

Scientists from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at the levels of several dangerous chemicals in the blood and urine of 245 volunteers.

Some of the volunteers didn’t smoke, some smoked weed or tobacco and dome smoked a combination of both.

They found that those who smoked only marijuana still had several smoking-related toxic chemicals in their system – but at lower levels than those who also or only smoked tobacco.

These include naphthalene, acrylonitrile and acrylamide – toxic chemicals that can cause liver damage, which are linked to cancer and a range of other health problems, researchers claim.

However, another chemical, acrolein, which is known to contribute to cardiovascular disease in tobacco smokers, only increased with tobacco smoking and not marijuana.

The team says reducing acrolein exposure through tobacco smoking and other sources could be a strategy to reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

Use of marijuana is on the rise in the US with a growing number of states legalizing it for medical and non-medical purposes – including five other states in the 2020 election.

“ The increase has raised new concerns about the potential health effects of marijuana smoke, which is known to contain some of the same toxic combustion products found in tobacco smoke, ” said Dana-Farber senior author, Dana Gabuzda, MD.

“This is the first study to compare exposure to acrolein and other harmful smoking-related chemicals over time in exclusive marijuana smokers and tobacco smokers, and to see if those exposures are linked to cardiovascular disease.”

The study involved 245 HIV-positive and HIV-negative participants in three HIV infection studies in the US. HIV-infected people were used because of the high smoking rates for tobacco and marijuana in this group.

The researchers collected data from the participants’ medical records and study results, and analyzed their blood and urine samples for substances produced by the breakdown of nicotine or the combustion of tobacco or marijuana.

By combining these datasets, they were able to trace the presence of specific toxic chemicals for smoking tobacco or marijuana.

They could also see if there was an association with an increased risk of heart disease.

Acrylamide, one of the chemicals found in tobacco and marijuana smoke, is used to make paper, plastic and dyes and is produced when vegetables are heated to a high temperature.

The chemical is considered “probably carcinogenic to humans” by the US National Toxicology Program and the American Cancer Society.

Meanwhile, acrylonitrile, found as a byproduct of smoking marijuana and tobacco, is used to make plastics and fibers.

The World Health Organization said cigarette smoke can be a major source of acrylonitrile in indoor air pollution and is considered a likely carcinogen.

The researchers also suggest that high acrolein levels, found in tobacco smokers, could be a sign of an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and that reducing exposure to the chemical may lower the risk.

“This is important for people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, given the high level of tobacco smoke and the increased risk of heart disease in this group.”

‘Our findings suggest that high acrolein levels could be used to identify patients at increased cardiovascular risk,’ said Gabuzda, ‘and that reducing acrolein exposure from smoking tobacco and other sources could be a strategy to reduce the risk. to decrease.’

The findings are published in the journal EClinicalMedicine.