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Cannabis is a banned plant in Vietnam. However, many countries around the world are allowed to grow this plant and is often used in conjunction with tobacco. This increases the risk of lung cancer many times compared to non-smokers. Let's find out the link between lung cancer and smoking marijuana through the article below.
1. What is cannabis?
Cannabis also known as cannabis or marijuana, this is a plant native to Central Asia, today grown in many parts of the world. The sap of the cannabis plant contains compounds called cannabinoids, which have psychoactive effects (acting on the brain and altering mood or consciousness).
Cannabis is used and legalized in a number of countries around the world as a drug for everyday use like tobacco, for reasons of relaxation and is also marketed as a cancer prevention agent. However, more and more studies deny this, because it not only does not help reduce cancer but also increases cancer several times in some organs in the body.
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2. Risk of lung cancer when smoking marijuana
Currently, the link between smoking or inhaling secondhand smoke and lung cancer is well known through many reliable studies. But the harmful use of marijuana and an increased risk of lung cancer is being proven by scientists through studies. Substances that can increase the risk of harm to the body have been found, such as Benzo(a) pyrene, Benz (a) anthracene, Phenol, Vinyl chloride, Nitrosamine.
Although, studies still do not have exact evidence, but through research results, scientists have found the following:
When you inhale the smoke of marijuana, you will usually try to take a deep breath and smoke, this puts the poison in the cannabis more in contact with lung tissue and the substance has a better chance of sticking there. Not only that, people who smoke marijuana will try to inhale to the end of the cigarette and the last part has a high concentration of toxic substances. When scientists looked at the lung tissue of some people who regularly smoked marijuana, they discovered changes that are thought to signal future cancer development. People who smoke marijuana are often associated with tobacco. Accordingly, smoking has also been shown to be the main cause of lung cancer. When using a mixture of marijuana smoke and cigarette smoke, the amount of plastic that causes lung cancer in particular and other types of cancer in general is 4 times higher than that of cigarette smoke alone. In addition, some small studies have found a link between marijuana use and certain types of cancer other than lung cancer, such as testicular cancer, throat cancer, and head and neck cancer.
However, the limitation of scientists demonstrating a link between smoking marijuana and lung cancer is that this appearance is not unanimous across all studies. That is, some studies have found evidence that cannabis is linked to lung cancer, while others show little or no association. In addition, it was previously illegal to use marijuana, making it difficult to gather information about how long they used it, how much they used it, and other risks associated with it. In addition, many people often use tobacco together, so it is difficult to know exactly where the risk comes from. On the other hand, most marijuana users don't smoke as much as tobacco users, which may reduce their chances of developing illnesses caused by marijuana.
Cancer is a disease that develops over a long period of time, so further research is needed to monitor the relationship between cannabis and lung cancer. So it may take more time for scientists to definitively prove a link between lung cancer and smoking marijuana. Although, the risks are not really clear about cancer and smoking marijuana. But substances that can cause cancer and harm the body are still present in marijuana. Therefore, to ensure health, you should avoid its use.
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Reference source: webmd.com