Skip to main content
PMC home page
British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.) logoLink to British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Ed.)
. 1987 Dec 12;295(6612):1516–1518. doi: 10.1136/bmj.295.6612.1516

Respiratory effects of non-tobacco cigarettes.

J W Bloom 1, W T Kaltenborn 1, P Paoletti 1, A Camilli 1, M D Lebowitz 1
PMCID: PMC1248665  PMID: 3122882

Abstract

Data from the Tucson epidemiological study of airways obstructive disease on smoking of non-tobacco cigarettes such as marijuana were analysed to determine the effect of such smoking on respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function. Among adults aged under 40, 14% had smoked non-tobacco cigarettes at some time and 9% were current users. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was increased in smokers of non-tobacco cigarettes. After tobacco smoking had been controlled for men who smoked non-tobacco cigarettes showed significant decreases in expiratory flow rates at low lung volumes and in the ratio of the forced expiratory volume in one second to the vital capacity. This effect on pulmonary function in male non-tobacco cigarette smokers was greater than the effect of tobacco cigarette smoking. These data suggest that non-tobacco cigarette smoking may be an important risk factor in young adults with respiratory symptoms or evidence of airways obstruction.

Full text

PDF
1516

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Boulougouris J. C., Panayiotopoulos C. P., Antypas E., Liakos A., Stefanis C. Effects of chronic hashish use on medical status in 44 users compared with 38 controls. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1976;282:168–172. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1976.tb49896.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Burrows B., Knudson R. J., Camilli A. E., Lyle S. K., Lebowitz M. D. The "horse-racing effect" and predicting decline in forced expiratory volume in one second from screening spirometry. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1987 Apr;135(4):788–793. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1987.135.4.788. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Camilli A. E., Burrows B., Knudson R. J., Lyle S. K., Lebowitz M. D. Longitudinal changes in forced expiratory volume in one second in adults. Effects of smoking and smoking cessation. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1987 Apr;135(4):794–799. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1987.135.4.794. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Coggins W. J., Swenson E. W., Dawson W. W., Fernandez-Salas A., Hernandez-Bolanos J., Jiminez-Antillon C. F., Solano J. R., Vinocour R., Faerron-Valdez F. Health status of chronic heavy cannabis users. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1976;282:148–161. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1976.tb49894.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cruickshank E. K. Physical assessment of 30 chronic cannabis users and 30 matched controls. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1976;282:162–167. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1976.tb49895.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Fleischman R. W., Baker J. R., Rosenkrantz H. Pulmonary pathologic changes in rats exposed to marihuana smoke for 1 year. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1979 Mar 15;47(3):557–566. doi: 10.1016/0041-008x(79)90526-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fleischman R. W., Hayden D. W., Braude M. C., Rosenkrantz H. Chronic marihuana inhalation toxicity in rats. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1975 Dec;34(3):467–478. doi: 10.1016/0041-008x(75)90140-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Henderson R. L., Tennant F. S., Guerry R. Respiratory manifestations of hashish smoking. Arch Otolaryngol. 1972 Mar;95(3):248–251. doi: 10.1001/archotol.1972.00770080390012. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Huber G. L., Simmons G. A., McCarthy C. R., Cutting M. B., Laguarda R., Pereira W. Depressant effect of marihuana smoke on antibactericidal activity of pulmonary alveolar macrophages. Chest. 1975 Dec;68(6):769–773. doi: 10.1378/chest.68.6.769. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Knudson R. J., Lebowitz M. D., Holberg C. J., Burrows B. Changes in the normal maximal expiratory flow-volume curve with growth and aging. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1983 Jun;127(6):725–734. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1983.127.6.725. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lebowitz M. D., Knudson R. J., Burrows B. Tucson epidemiologic study of obstructive lung diseases. I: Methodology and prevalence of disease. Am J Epidemiol. 1975 Aug;102(2):137–152. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112141. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Paoletti P., Camilli A. E., Holberg C. J., Lebowitz M. D. Respiratory effects in relation to estimated tar exposure from current and cumulative cigarette consumption. Chest. 1985 Dec;88(6):849–855. doi: 10.1378/chest.88.6.849. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Roy P. E., Magnan-Lapointe F., Huy N. D., Boutet M. Chronic inhalation of marijuana and tobacco in dogs: pulmonary pathology. Res Commun Chem Pathol Pharmacol. 1976 Jun;14(2):305–317. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Tashkin D. P., Calvarese B. M., Simmons M. S., Shapiro B. J. Respiratory status of seventy-four habitual marijuana smokers. Chest. 1980 Nov;78(5):699–706. doi: 10.1378/chest.78.5.699. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Tashkin D. P., Coulson A. H., Clark V. A., Simmons M., Bourque L. B., Duann S., Spivey G. H., Gong H. Respiratory symptoms and lung function in habitual heavy smokers of marijuana alone, smokers of marijuana and tobacco, smokers of tobacco alone, and nonsmokers. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1987 Jan;135(1):209–216. doi: 10.1164/arrd.1987.135.1.209. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Tashkin D. P., Shapiro B. J., Lee Y. E., Harper C. E. Subacute effects of heavy marihuana smoking on pulmonary function in healthy men. N Engl J Med. 1976 Jan 15;294(3):125–129. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197601152940302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Tennant F. S., Jr Histopathologic and clinical abnormalities of the respiratory system in chronic hashish smokers. Subst Alcohol Actions Misuse. 1980;1(1):93–100. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from British Medical Journal (Clinical research ed.) are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES