While most smokers believe that smoking cigarettes harms their health, marijuana users are more optimistic about its benefits. Marijuana’s effects on the human body are a great deal less pronounced. The drug is less toxic and more friendly to the lungs, and it has fewer adverse effects on the brain and immune system.
Less Harmful to the Lungs
A new review of the effects of vaping on the lungs found that it is significantly less harmful than cigarettes. This finding aligns with the current recommendations of the British Lung Foundation and reflects the experience of millions of vape users. Vaping aerosol contains much fewer chemicals than cigarette smoke, reducing the number of toxins inhaled.
Lungs are organs of the body that perform many critical functions. When healthy, they allow people to breathe easily and perform daily tasks without significant effort. However, if damaged, they can result in serious illness and even death. Tobacco smoke damages lung tissue and impairs the lungs’ ability to function properly. As a result, smokers have a higher risk of developing lung diseases such as emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lung cancer.
Marijuana and cigarettes both contain chemicals that damage the lungs. But marijuana smokers tend to be less heavy and may experience less lung damage. So while marijuana use is still a bad habit, it is less harmful to the lungs than smoking cigarettes. In addition, studies of more than 5,000 people in the United States suggest that low to moderate use of marijuana may not have harmful effects on the lungs.
Less Toxic to the Brain
Smoking cigarettes is bad for the body and the brain. Nicotine can alter the brain, making you feel anxious, irritable, and craving nicotine. In addition, nicotine withdrawal is so painful that many smokers will reach for another cigarette to ease the withdrawal symptoms. This cycle, known as nicotine dependence, is hard to break.
Smoking introduces toxic chemicals into the body and brain. Some of these chemicals are cancer-causing and cause genetic changes. Likened to nonsmokers, smokers are likely to suffer from strokes. The risk of stroke increases two to four times for smokers with each additional cigarette. However, the risk for stroke decreases to the same level as for nonsmokers within five years.
Nicotine is a chemical that mimics neurotransmitters in the brain. As a result, it increases the heart’s rate and oxygen use. It releases endorphins to help relieve stress and improve mood. However, these effects last only for a short time. Smoking cigarettes is addictive and results in withdrawal symptoms if one stops. In addition, long-term nicotine use is linked to a decline in cognitive ability and increased risks of Alzheimer’s disease.
Less Harmful to the Immune System
Tobacco death and morbidity are preventable; research shows it suppresses the immune system and is a pulmonary infection risk. Smokers also have an increased risk of several diseases, including AIDS. In addition, smoking reduces the body’s ability to fight off infections and may increase a person’s risk of developing cancer.
Studies have indicated that vaping may harm the immune system even though it is a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes. One study using e-cigarettes induced changes in the respiratory and immune systems and impaired bacterial clearance. This may be caused by reduced expression of key immune genes in the respiratory epithelium.
The researchers used nasal biopsies from smokers and e-cigarette users and compared the genes in those samples with nonsmokers. They found that both types of tobacco and e-cigarettes suppressed immune-related genes. Additionally, e-cigarette use reduced the expression of seven transcription factors common to cigarette smokers and e-cigarette users. The gene whose expression changed most was EGR1, which decreased by almost 10-fold in e-cigarette users.
