Pubdate: Mon, 11 Nov 2002
Source: Guardian, The (UK)
Copyright: 2002 Guardian Newspapers Limited
Contact:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardian/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/175
Author: James Meikle

CANCER WARNING PUT ON SMOKING JOINTS

Smoking three joints a day might do as much damage to the lungs as do 20 
cigarettes, the British Lung Foundation says in a report today. Tar from 
cannabis cigarettes has 50% more cancer causing chemicals than a cigarette, 
and smokers inhale deeper and hold their breath longer, the charity warns 
in a report on Britain's most popular illegal drug, says the charity.

It fears young people are unaware of the medical consequences of smoking 
the drug, far more powerful than in the 1960s due to a higher ratio of 
tetrahydro-cabinol (THC), the ingredient associated with its mind-affecting 
properties.

The foundation wants a government campaign to warn of the heightened risks 
of chest infections and cancers. It also wants more research into increased 
risk of nicotine addiction, and whether cannabis smoking leads to more 
emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

The report, A Smoking Gun?, comes as the government prepares to reclassify 
cannabis as a less harmful drug and endorse a more relaxed attitude to 
policing its use.

Mark Britton, the charity's chairman, believed it would surprise those who 
smoked cannabis rather than tobacco, in the belief it was safer. "The 
report is not about the moral rights and wrongs of cannabis, but making 
sure everyone is completely clear about the respiratory risks involved."

It concludes that there is strong evidence cannabis smoking increases the 
risk of lung cancer, which kills more than 34,000 Britons a year.

Benzopyrene, a constituent of tar in cannabis cigarettes, alters a gene 
that normally suppresses tumours. It accepts that evidence is less 
conclusive on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, thought to kill 
another 32,000 a year.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens