Vaping cannabis can be worse for the lungs than smoking, a study shows

Hemp vaping can put teens at greater risk for developing lung injury symptoms than those who smoke cigarettes, or marijuana, or take nicotine vape, according to a new study.

Teenagers were about twice as likely to report wheezing or breast-whistling than those who used e-cigarettes or smoked, findings from the University of Michigan showed. The researchers also evaluated whether participants reported dry cough at night that was not related to temporary infection or was wheezing during exercise.

The findings challenge conventional wisdom that cigarette smoking or vaping nicotine is the most harmful to the lungs, said Carol Boyd, the principal investigator and professor at the university’s School of Nursing.

“Of course, cigarettes and e-cigarettes are unhealthy and not good for the lungs,” Boyd said in a statement on the university’s website. “However, marijuana vaping seems even worse.”

The researchers found that the use of e-cigarettes or cigarettes did not cause more respiratory symptoms in the teenagers who participated in the study. They did not specify where the cannabis products were purchased and whether they were legal.

Vaping machines have become increasingly popular as a way of eating cannabis, either in the form of wax or oil. A wave of mysterious illnesses and deaths associated with vaping threw the industry into turmoil before the coronavirus pandemic set in. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eventually found a link to vitamin E acetate, which has been used as a cutting agent in e-liquids containing THC, the main active ingredient in marijuana – often in unhealthy products legal.

The University of Michigan study included thousands of adolescents ages 12 to 17 who reported symptoms in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Examination. One limitation of the report is that it did not look at the use of cannabis vapabis and cigarettes or e-cigarettes, the researchers said.

Michael R. Bloomberg, founder and parent parent of Bloomberg News Bloomberg LP parent, has campaigned and donated money in support of the U.S. ban on flavored e-cigarettes and tobacco.

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This story was published from a wire group group with no text changes.