Light to moderate smoking of marijuana might not have any injurious effects on lung health, and may actually improve lung capacity, a new study by scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham contends. [Reuters]
Dr. Stefan Kertesz, who worked on the new study, said that while previous studies by others have hinted that limited pot use is not particularly damaging to the lungs, this most recent analysis suggests that certain medical benefits are undeniable.
“It’s a very real increase… but it’s so small that I don’t think that a person would feel a benefit in terms of their breathing,” Kertesz said. “Is this a real increase in lung health? That’s the other question. We don’t know exactly what’s happening inside all of the airways of the individuals who are measured.”
A long-term study of more than 5,000 young adults in Oakland, Chicago, Minneapolis and Birmingham formed the basis for the study’s conclusions.
