Health risks of cannabis smoke

+ when governors get imperious US Edition - Today's top story: Many people think cannabis smoke is harmless − a physician explains how that belief can put people at risk [View in browser]( US Edition | 30 August 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Iranian street art as an act of protest]( - [Should school be a year-round thing?]( - [How giraffes can better coexist with us]( Lead story With loosening restrictions and increasing popularity, chances are you’ve caught a whiff of the sharp, skunky smell of cannabis smoke trailing down the street or seeping out a window. But how safe is inhaling clouds of weed? In a recent study, primary care doctor Beth Cohen of the University of California, San Francisco and her colleagues found that an increasing number of U.S. adults perceive both direct and secondhand cannabis smoke to be safer than that of tobacco. But while there is decades of research on the harms of tobacco smoke, far fewer studies have been conducted on the long-term health effects of cannabis smoke exposure because of federal restrictions. The studies that have been conducted, however, have been enough to raise concerns among public health agencies. “[How people perceive the safety of cannabis]( has important implications for its use and public policy,” Cohen writes. [ [Science from the scientists themselves. Sign up for our weekly science email newsletter.]( ] Vivian Lam Associate Health and Biomedicine Editor Cannabis smoke shares many of the same toxins and carcinogens as tobacco smoke. Tunatura/iStock via Getty Images Plus [Many people think cannabis smoke is harmless − a physician explains how that belief can put people at risk]( Beth Cohen, University of California, San Francisco Clinical trials have demonstrated the health benefits of cannabis for certain conditions, but many aren’t testing smoked or vaped forms. 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