Vaping Pot Worse Than Vaping Tobacco for Teens' Lungs

*The following is excerpted from an online article posted on HealthDay.

Teenagers who vape pot are more likely to wheeze and cough than those who smoke or vape nicotine, new survey data reveals.

Reports from U.S. kids 12 to 17 show they have a higher risk of wheezing, suffering from a dry cough and having their sleep, speech, or exercise impeded by wheezing if they vape marijuana products, according to results from the U.S. federally funded Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study.

These are all symptoms strongly related to lung injury, and it's unclear how long they will last, said lead researcher Carol Boyd, co-director of the University of Michigan's Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking and Health.

"We found, and it was something that surprised us a bit, that it was the lifetime vaping cannabis that was associated with a far greater number of symptoms and a higher likelihood of having each of these symptoms than using either e-cigarettes or cigarettes," Boyd said. "Lifetime" referred to any past use.

Survey responses from nearly 15,000 teens showed that vaping pot increased their risk of wheezing or whistling in the chest by 81%, compared with a 15% increased risk from cigarettes and a 9% increased risk from nicotine e-cigarettes.

Vaping pot also increased teens' risk of:

• Sleep disturbed by wheezing by 71%
• Speech limited due to wheezing by 96%
• Wheezing during or after exercise by 33%
• Dry coughing at night by 26%.

Smoking and nicotine e-cigarette use also increased risks for these indications of lung injury, just not by as much, Boyd said.

The survey was taken between December 2016 and January 2018 -- prior to the wave of lung injuries among young people that occurred in 2019. It was given the name EVALI, or e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury.

The study appears in the March 3 Journal of Adolescent Health.

Source: HealthDay
https://consumer.healthday.com/3-4-vaping-pot-may-be-worse-than-vaping-tobacco-for-teens-lungs-2650841780.html