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It is always a good idea to stop smoking. Smoking cessation is an essential step towards a healthier life. Following last week’s story on the study, which found that the most significant potential health risk of smoking cannabis is combining it with tobacco, we decided to find out how dangerous tobacco use with cannabis is and whether cannabis users would take heed of this warning.
The study concluded that most health risks from smoking cannabis could be reduced simply by discouraging people from smoking tobacco. They even went as far as recommending people opt for vaporisers instead.
The study mentioned is not the only study on tobacco’s impact on cannabis use. The British Lung Foundation’s study found that when you smoke cannabis and tobacco together, the harmful effects are significantly worse.
Damage
The BLF’s study found that smoking 3-4 joints (cannabis joints with tobacco) a day causes roughly the same damage as smoking 20 decks of cigarettes daily, exposing users to acute and chronic bronchitis and the same degree of damage to the bronchial mucosa.
The way that users inhale spliffs is one of the main issues. Because cannabis users tend to inhale joints/spliffs deeper than they would a cigarette, the puff volume increases by two-thirds and the depth of inhalation by one-third. There is also an average fourfold longer breath-holding time with cannabis than with tobacco. All of this means a more significant respiratory burden of carbon monoxide and smoke particulates such as tar than smoking a similar quantity of tobacco.
Smoking cannabis with tobacco also increases dependence, which might sound obvious (as nicotine is the third most addictive substance globally). A study in Frontiers in Psychiatry found that mixing the two substances also vastly increases the risk of dependence in users of both tobacco and cannabis!
The lead researcher from the Frontiers in Psychiatry study, Chandni Hindocha, said: “Cannabis is less addictive than tobacco, but we show here that mixing tobacco with cannabis lowers the motivation to quit using these drugs.”
The study found that primarily Europeans contaminate their cannabis with tobacco.
The Figures:
Between 77.2% and 90.9% of Europeans smoke cannabis with tobacco, compared to 51.6% of Australians.
Compared to only 4.4% of Americans and 16% of Canadians combining cannabis with tobacco, it’s no wonder UK researchers recently reiterated the dangers of mixing with Brits.
Cannabis, on its own, however, is not addictive. If smoked with tobacco, however, it can reduce your motivation to quit smoking, which is never good. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the UK, where nearly half a million people were admitted to hospital in 2008-9 due to smoking. How can you enjoy your herbs if you’re dead?
According to another study, smoking tobacco alone also increases the risk of dependence on cannabis, independent of smoking.
Researchers found that smoking cigarettes mediated the relationship between cannabis use and cannabis dependence, even when controlling for psychological and demographic correlates that might explain this relationship. The suggestion here is that cigarette smoking enhances vulnerability to the harmful effects of cannabis.
So, if you’re craving a joint, it might just be the nicotine in the tobacco you’re craving, not the high from the cannabis! You can try quitting smoking without quitting cannabis.
Talking to smokers
Gary experienced this craving when he quit tobacco five years ago: “I quit smoking cigs, but still had a joint with tobacco before bed to help with sleep.
“I started craving that Joint. Obviously, for the nicotine. It would be on my mind all day.”
Only when Gary discovered vaporisers could he use cannabis to induce sleep without having the 24-hour craving for nicotine: “After I found vaporisers, I realised I could use cannabis to sleep without the tobacco.
“I mean, I’d done pipes and stuff, but I preferred the taste with tobacco until I got one of these things.”
The fact that the above study suggested that smoking just 3-4 joints a day may cause the same damages as a whole 20 deck should put anyone off using tobacco with their cannabis. This was certainly the case for some of our readers.
Renmko also experienced this nicotine craving before she quit: “The craving for a spliff came from the nicotine addiction, so once I got that addiction out of the way, it became more like, ‘hmm, I could go for a bowl or a joint right now, instead of ‘f*ck mate, I wanna smoke a spliff so bad right now!”
Renmko, however, used cannabis to help her quit tobacco! She told us that before quitting tobacco, she smoked a pack a day but has since been smoking cannabis without contaminating it with tobacco: “Smoking pure has helped my lungs massively!
“My physical condition is a lot better; I smell more, I taste more, and the effect of pure cannabis is a thousand times better than tobacco!”
Her advice for other cannabis users addicted to tobacco may sound simplistic, but it should resonate with many of us: “Just stop it!
“Get a nice bag, prepare yourself for a week of being extraordinarily grumpy and unable to sleep properly for a week; that’s why smoking a lot in the beginning helps!
“Just do it; it’s the best decision I ever made!”
Kieran shared a similar experience after smoking cannabis helped him eliminate his 10-a-day habit.
He told us: “I started smoking when I was 14 and stopped when I was 19. I spent my teenage years completely abusing my body as all my friends were, and I just thought it’s what I meant to do.”
However, once Kieran started smoking cannabis daily, he realised the damage tobacco and alcohol were having on his body: “When I started smoking weed all-day-every-day, it made me feel what’s terrible for my body like smoking and drinking alcohol.
“I realised I should stop drinking and smoking and continue smoking weed. I’ve done so for the past 4-5 years now.””
Quitting tobacco, with the help of cannabis, has had an enormously positive impact on Kieran’s life and health: “I’ve been training boxing for over three years now, and I’ve had four amateur bouts, and my fitness is through the roof!”I credit all this to the fact that smoking cannabis helped me realise my potential and what I should and should not be doing.”
Martin ditched tobacco for a vaporiser and told us how great the switch has been: “I changed from spliff to vaping, and it’s fantastic!”I didn’t think I was getting stoned for the first few days until I got up to go to bed and felt it.
Smoking cannabis without tobacco also may have the potential to enhance your high! It certainly did for Martin: “I prefer the high without the tobacco, I feel less edgy, and I no longer have that craving to smoke again soon after.”
Renmko also attested to the cannabis high being better without tobacco: There are better benefits and even a better high.”Plus, you know what the craziest thing is? Eventually, I smoke less cannabis than before.”
So, it does seem that cannabis can help those addicted to nicotine quit tobacco. However, it’s essential to remember that cannabis is not a wonder, cure-all drug.
Andy told us his nicotine cravings would be impossible to manage without his nicotine mints: “I use nicotine mints for the cravings would be impossible without them; they help so much.”
Andy explained that cannabis oil helps the cravings and mints:“I have learned how to cook with cannabis, so I make my canna oil now.”The oil is amazing and so much stronger than smoking it! I’m sticking to my mints and oil from now on.”
Final Thoughts
Smoking tobacco, in any sense, is a bad idea. Coupled with inhaling spliffs deeper and for longer, it may be a wise idea to roll that next one pure.
