Internal Medicine Journal 2003; 33: 310–313 POSITION PAPER Respiratory health effects of cannabis: Position Statement of The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand

Both the gaseous and the particulate phases of tobacco and cannabis smoke contain a similar range of harmful chemicals. However, differing patterns of inhalation mean that smoking a ‘joint ’ of cannabis results in expo-sure to significantly greater amounts of combusted material than with a tobacco cigarette. The histopatho-logical effects of cannabis smoke exposure include changes consistent with acute and chronic bronchitis. Cellular dysplasia has also been observed, suggesting that, like tobacco smoke, cannabis exposure has the potential to cause malignancy. These features are con-sistent with the clinical presentation. Symptoms of cough and early morning sputum production are common (20–25%) even in young individuals who smoke cannabis alone. Almost all studies indicate that the effects of cannabis and tobacco smoking are addi-tive and independent. Public health education should dispel the myth that cannabis smoking is relatively safe by highlighting that the adverse respiratory effects of smoking cannabis are similar to those of smoking tobacco, even although it remains to be confirmed that smoking cannabis alone leads to the development of chronic lung disease. (Intern Med J 2003; 33