Effect of cannabis smoking on lung function and respiratory symptoms: a structured literature review
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Ribeiro, LI
Ind, PW
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
As cannabis use increases, physicians need to be familiar with the effects of both cannabis and tobacco on the lungs. However, there have been very few long-term studies of cannabis smoking, mostly due to legality issues and the confounding effects of tobacco. It was previously thought that cannabis and tobacco had similar long-term effects as both cause chronic bronchitis. However, recent large studies have shown that, instead of reducing forced expiratory volume in 1 s and forced vital capacity (FVC), marijuana smoking is associated with increased FVC. The cause of this is unclear, but acute bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory effects of cannabis may be relevant. Bullous lung disease, barotrauma and cannabis smoking have been recognised in case reports and small series. More work is needed to address the effects of cannabis on lung function, imaging and histological changes.
Date Issued
2016-10-20
Date Acceptance
2016-08-21
Citation
npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine, 2016, 26
ISSN
2055-1010
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Journal / Book Title
npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine
Volume
26
Copyright Statement
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
16071