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government propaganda news article about pot

Started by Jim Johnson, June 06, 2012, 04:34 PM NHFT

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Jim Johnson

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18283689

Experts are warning that the public dangerously underestimates the health risks linked to smoking cannabis.

The British Lung Foundation carried out a survey of 1,000 adults and found a third wrongly believed cannabis did not harm health.

And 88% incorrectly thought tobacco cigarettes were more harmful than cannabis ones - when the risk of lung cancer is actually 20 times higher.

The BLF said the lack of awareness was "alarming".
Widely used

Latest figures show that 30% of 16-59 year-olds in England and Wales have used cannabis in their lifetimes.

A new report from the BLF says there are established scientific links between smoking cannabis and tuberculosis, acute bronchitis and lung cancer.

Part of the reason for this, say the experts, is that people smoking cannabis take deeper puffs and hold them for longer than when smoking tobacco cigarettes........

Tom Sawyer

Same old nonsense... poorly researched article.

20 times higher risk of lung cancer? Bet that is the comparison of tars and such...

Here are some actual scientific studies.
http://medicalcannabis.com/Journal-2012/pulmonary-study-jama

Lloyd Danforth

Has anyone ever done a study of long term marijuana use, say  in Jamaica where a large percentage of males my age and older have smoked all of their lives?

Tom Sawyer

Quote from: Lloyd Danforth on June 06, 2012, 05:20 PM NHFT
Has anyone ever done a study of long term marijuana use, say  in Jamaica where a large percentage of males my age and older have smoked all of their lives?

There was a study of Jamaican women during pregnancy and the effect on the babies. http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/marijuana-cannabis-use-in-pregnancy-dr-melanie-dreher/

The Missoula study, referenced on the page I linked too, studied the Federal patients who smoke very large amounts daily with almost no negative effects.

MaineShark

Cannabis smoke definitely does have more tar and such.

Of course, if you could buy cannabis cigarettes at the store, you could opt for ones with filters.  Joints tend not to have filters.

A better comparison would use unfiltered tobacco cigarettes.  I bet the ratio is not 20:1, when a fair comparison is made.

And then figure in that cannabis smokers don't smoke the same quantity.  What's the ratio on that?  A joint or two a day might be comparable to a tobacco smoker who uses a pack a day, I'd guess.

So, if we imagine (just for the sake of argument) that filtered cannabis cigarettes might be five times more dangerous than filtered tobacco cigarettes, and that one cannabis cigarette is equivalent to ten or twenty tobacco cigarettes, in terms of consumption rate... then the cannabis user is actually 50-75% less likely to suffer lung damage.  If you figure in the potential anti-cancer effects of cannabis, that number becomes even better, but it's amusing to point out the more-blatant forms of deception that they try and use.

Tom Sawyer

The mistake is to compare levels of tars and then say that a 20 times higher tar level equates to a 20 times higher cancer threat.

Especially when there is research to show that perhaps cannabis protects against cancer.

QuoteIn 1974, University of Virginia researchers discovered something very unlikely. Cannabis, banned in the United States in 1937, and further demonized by the Nixon administration in 1968, had an unexpected property: it inhibited the growth of lung cancer cells. But, even more surprising was the response from the government: an apparent complete absence, even discouragement of any follow-up studies. The results were briefly mentioned in news reports at the time, but with the end of the Carter administration, cannabis became a step-child as far as scientific research was concerned.

Continue reading at NowPublic.com: New US Study Affirms Smoked Marijuana Protects Against Cancer. | NowPublic News Coverage http://www.nowpublic.com/health/new-us-study-affirms-smoked-marijuana-protects-against-cancer#ixzz1xA1JjtUh

One difference between tobacco and cannabis is that cannabis is an expectorant... it tends to make for a productive cough that cleans things out. Tobacco makes for a dry tight cough that is not productive. THC has been shown to have anti-tumor properties.

QuoteEven very heavy, long-term marijuana users who had smoked more than 22,000 joints over a lifetime seemed to have no greater risk than infrequent marijuana users or nonusers.
The findings surprised the study's researchers, who expected to see an increase in cancer among people who smoked marijuana regularly in their youth.


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,196678,00.html#ixzz1xA3tJtOL


MaineShark

Certainly.  My point was that, even if one accepts their hypotheses, the real-world application of those notions still goes against what they'd like to claim.

Their own numbers, when applied to how marijuana cigarettes would actually be produced and used, if legal, still say that they'd be less dangerous than tobacco.