Cannabis smoking among UK youngsters sparks severe lung disease rise warning

Study conducted at Welsh hospital of patients who had smoked five joints a day for at least a decade warns of steep increase in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Britain is on the verge of a steep rise in young adults getting a severe form of lung disease due to regular cannabis and tobacco smoking, Welsh scientists have warned.

Lung specialists have given the warning at the winter meeting of the British Thoracic Society.

A study at Bangor analysed patients attending A&E with a severe and accelerated form of emphysema linked to their high use of cannabis and tobacco.

Some patients were in their 30s and the whole sample had smoked five joints a day – or more – for at least a decade.

Eight patients presenting with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – the umbrella term for a collection of lung diseases including chronic bronchitis and emphysema – and aged between 35 and 48, were studied by researchers at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor hospital, for two years.

In four cases the lung damage was severe enough to require long term oxygen therapy and one patient is still awaiting a suitable lung transplant.

Researchers believe high cannabis and tobacco use was the major cause of the aggressive and advanced emphysema.

Studies world-wide have also begun to pick up on this advanced and severe emphysema affecting young to middle aged people who use illicit drugs.

In Australia smoking cannabis through a “bong” device has led to the rise of what experts are now calling “bong lung”.

Emphysema, a debilitating condition in which the air sacs of the lungs are damaged and enlarged, is mainly caused by tobacco use, and has historically affected people later in life.

The latest warning comes after statistics showed Wales remains near the top of the UK smoking "league of shame", despite a drop in numbers.

Researchers think that the lungs may become damaged more quickly in cannabis users who smoke the drug with tobacco because:

:: A joint is often be smoked without a filter - leaving smokers exposed to damaging chemicals from a “double whammy” of both tobacco and cannabis;

:: Cannabis smokers tend to inhale for longer - leading to the body retaining more chemical content - increasing the burden of smoke particles and carbon monoxide;

:: The heavy chemical load is delivered at a potentially damaging temperature; and

:: Modern cannabis is now much stronger with a higher potential for damage.

Dr Damian Mckeon, a consultant in respiratory medicine at Ysbyty Gwynedd, and Honorary Senior Lecturer at Bangor University, said yesterday: “We are seeing young people on the wards with the lungs of 80 year olds after less than a decade of smoking cannabis and tobacco.

“Our study was in a rural region of North Wales but we believe these cases may represent the tip of the iceberg.

“There are communities of young people all across the country, often living in areas of high deprivation and unemployment, who smoke spliffs regularly. They are putting their health and futures in grave danger.

“Cannabis is far stronger these days and we are seeing the emergence of a new severe form of emphysema - which could lead to people struggling for breath for the rest of their life. We urgently need a detailed study across Britain which analyses the national picture of cannabis use and lung disease.”

Dr Bernard Higgins, chairman of the British Thoracic Society’s executive committee, and consultant lung specialist at the Freeman Hospital at Newcastle said: “This study is yet another small but persuasive piece of a jigsaw pointing to a real danger of regularly smoking joints. The Government should monitor this emerging evidence carefully and take it into account when considering future drugs and smoking policy.

“We must do all we can to stop lung disease blighting the lives of future generations and an innovative education campaign is key. We also need to ramp up programmes to tackle the underlying reasons behind young people’s risk taking behaviour.

“We need better data on the national picture, and if hot spot areas can be identified we can then target both NHS services and prevention efforts more effectively.”

Recent UN data shows that cannabis is the world’s most widely used illicit drug - and here it is the most widely used drug among pupils aged 11-15 in 2012 with 7.5 per cent reporting they had taken it in the last year.

It is also the most commonly used drug among adults aged 16-59, with 6.4 per cent of adults using it in 2012.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/cannabis-smoking-among-uk-youngsters-8229355 04/12/2014