According to a new study, many individuals understand secondhand cigarette smoke is bad, yet most do not know that secondhand marijuana smoke also may be dangerous,. Blood vessel functionality is vital because a decreased level might increase the odds of developing hardened arteries. If functionality is low, plaque may build inside the arteries, narrowing them and restricting blood flow. In turn, this may raise the threat of a heart attack. Tobacco and marijuana smoke are physically and chemically alike, apart from their active ingredients. The dip in blood vessel functionality from THC-free cannabis implies that the compound is not responsible for the effect. Likewise, the study confirms that nicotine isn’t needed for smoke to interfere with the function of blood vessels.
Researchers, in the study, utilized a modified cigarette smoke machine in order to expose rats to cannabis smoke. An ultrasound machine that was high resolution measured how well the primary leg artery functioned. Scientists noted blood vessel dilation prior to smoke exposure and ten minutes and forty minutes following exposure to smoke. Secondhand pot smoke exposure hardened the arteries over time, and consequently increased the threat of a heart attack. Also, they performed different tests with THC-free cannabis and plain air. There wasn’t any difference in blood vessel functionality as the rats were exposed to regular air. In prior studies on tobacco, blood vessel functionality usually returned to normal within half-an-hour of exposure.
However, in the cannabis study, function of the blood vessels did not go back to normal while measured forty minutes following exposure. Now that cannabis is becoming more legalized in the U.S., its effect on other people is an increasing concern in public health. More studies are required to decide if secondhand cannabis smoke has additional similar effects to second-hand cigarette smoke in human beings.
