Where there’s smoke, there’s … asthma?
That’s the concern among some experts, as a recent study from the City University of New York (CUNY) identified a link between the legalization of marijuana and asthma among children and adolescents.
The research, published in the journal Preventive Medicine in the February 2024 issue, found that in states where marijuana is legal, the proportion of teenagers with asthma is slightly higher than in states where it is still illegal.
The recreational use of marijuana is now legalized in 24 states.
In the study, a team of researchers at the CUNY School of Public Health (SPH) analyzed data taken from the 2011-2019 National Survey of Children’s Health, which consisted of a “representative sample of the US young child population,” according to a press release from the university .
The sample consisted of 227,451 US children aged 17 and under, with a mean age of 8.56.
“In the first nationally representative study of cannabis use and asthma in the US, a consistent positive linear relationship (dose-response) was observed between the frequency of cannabis use and the prevalence of asthma in adolescents and adults,” Renee Goodwin, CUNY SPH professor and lead author of the study , told Fox News Digital.
“The relationship was not explained by the confounding of smoking, and a stronger relationship between blunt smoking frequency and asthma was found,” he added. (Blunts are hollow cigars filled with marijuana.)
Several factors drive marijuana use among older Americans, a New York City-based psychiatrist told Fox News Digital. Alexey – stock.adobe.com
Exposure to secondhand smoke has historically been a major factor in childhood asthma, the researchers said.
There are currently about 4.5 million children under the age of 18 living with asthma in the US, according to the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America.
As Goodwin points out, there is “very little information available” about the potential respiratory health risks associated with marijuana use.
“It took decades for the public to receive information about the effects of smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke on respiratory and lung health,” he said.
Exposure to secondhand smoke has historically been a major factor in childhood asthma. Pixel-Shot – stock.adobe.com
Goodwin recommends people consider that smoking marijuana may have health risks similar to those posed by cigarettes, especially for people with asthma.
Just because there is “no public health education” about the potential health risks of marijuana use doesn’t mean they don’t exist, Goodwin warned.
“The commercialization and advertising of cannabis use by cannabis companies and state and local governments promoting the use of cannabis for all adults is the only information the public receives, which may lead people to believe it is risk-free,” he said.
“That’s not based on science or any data on long-term outcomes.”
Researchers also point out that marijuana today may pose a greater risk than decades ago.
“Products commonly sold in vaping and other forms of cannabis administration have THC concentrations in excess of 90% compared to the ‘joint’ of a few decades ago, which was about 2.5% THC,” Goodwin said.
Cannabis oil and wax are also chemically produced substances, which pose their own risks, experts warn.
“The potential short-term and long-term effects of exposure to this level of THC on the human brain, breathing or other aspects of physical health have never been studied,” he said.
“Consumers should demand that information about safety and purity — as well as dosage, potency, and health and safety risks — be available at any commercial marijuana retail store, and that states enforce the laws their states have passed,” Goodwin said. .
Dr. Eric Heffelfinger, staff physician at the Caron Treatment Center, an addiction center in Pennsylvania, was not involved in the research but commented on the findings.
“This study is significant not only in its size, but in its finding that the risk of asthma is significantly increased for those who smoke marijuana, especially those who smoke blunts for more than 20 days a month,” he told Fox News Digital.
Goodwin recommends people consider that smoking marijuana may have health risks similar to those posed by cigarettes. Joshua Resnick – stock.adobe.com
This is not surprising, doctors say, because previous studies have shown that nicotine is associated with the risk of asthma.
“We expected this to be the case for marijuana, but now we have the data to prove it,” said Heffelfinger, who spent more than 25 years specializing in pulmonology and critical care before turning to addiction medicine.
The actual increase in asthma risk may be higher than the study implied, he said, because the data was collected in 2020 and likely underestimated current exposure.
“The accessibility of cannabis and other cannabis products has increased rapidly in the last three years,” he said. “We expect that the number of people affected by asthma due to cannabis use will also increase significantly.”
This applies not only to those who use marijuana directly, but also to those who have increased second-hand exposure, Heffelfinger added.
The actual increase in asthma risk may be higher than the study suggests. Michael Moloney – stock.adobe.com
“The known health effects of cannabis and cannabis products – increased asthma, psychiatric symptoms, psychosis and cannabis use disorders – are only the tip of the iceberg,” he warned.
“There’s too much we don’t know because these are genetically and chemically enhanced products with delivery methods like smoking or vaping that cause lung damage,” he said.
“Because these products are so easily accessible, the long-term health implications are worrisome and likely to increase in frequency and severity across the spectrum of events.”
When contacted by Fox News Digital for comment, the National Cannabis Industry Association responded by stating that it is a business trade association and did not have immediate medical experts to discuss the new report.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
