BMJ  2003;327:165 (19 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7407.165-a

Letter

Comparing cannabis with tobacco

Those who start taking cannabis young have the greatest problems

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—Henry et al compare cannabis with tobacco.1 Through the North East Council for Addictions (NECA) I have contact with cannabis users in the north east of England. Many young people (including 1% of schoolchildren) smoke at least five (up to 15) spliffs daily or inhale from "buckets." Thus they obtain high concentrations of cannabis smoke containing all the constituents of tobacco smoke (except nicotine), including carbon monoxide, bronchial irritants, and carcinogens. Young people may start smoking at the age of 8 years, and more and more smokers are continuing for longer—into their 40s and 50s.

Unlike tobacco (nicotine) cannabinoids also have adverse psychiatric effects. A large amount of evidence shows that young and adolescent users are especially vulnerable to these effects.2 3 Those starting to use cannabis while in their early teens are more likely to suffer intellectual and emotional impairment; escalate to weekly or daily use; become dependent; . . . [Full text of this article]

C Heather Ashton, emeritus professor

Department of Psychiatry, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4LP c.h.ashton@ncl.ac.uk


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Relevant Article

Comparing cannabis with tobacco
John A Henry, William L G Oldfield, and Onn Min Kon
BMJ 2003 326: 942-943. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Tan, C., Hatam, N, Treasure, T. (2006). Bullous disease of the lung and cannabis smoking: insufficient evidence for a causative link. JRSM 99: 77-80 [Full text]  
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