Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : The Obama - Clinton Disaster -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DuckTapeSunroof who wrote (2077)	11/23/2008 11:00:36 AM
From: Gersh Avery	1 Recommendation Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 103300

Smoker and concerned about cancer? Just mix in some pot. Science: Why cannabis smokers may have a lower cancer risk than tobacco smokers Eleven scientists from the USA and Taiwan summarized data from basic research and a re-evaluation of an epidemiological study by Sidney and colleagues from 1997. Their investigation indicates that cannabis smoke may not increase or even decrease the incidence of cancers associated with tobacco smoke. While cannabis smoke contains higher levels of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) than in tobacco smoke, this may not mean that cannabis smokers are at a higher cancer risk than tobacco smokers, since the level of PAHs is less important than the influence of substances on PAH activation by certain enzymes in the liver. "Not surprisingly, spiking tobacco tar with delta-9-THC markedly reduced carcinogenic activity" in experiments with cancer cells, scientists wrote in an article for the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. It is known that cannabis smoking causes precursors of cancer, which are also observed in tobacco smokers. However, studies show that these precursors "may have little, if any predictive value" and these lesions are "generally reversible and often regress spontaneously." In studies with monkeys "prolonged exposure to marijuana smoke failed to produce any carcinogenic effects." In the cohort study by Sidney et al. (1997) with about 65,000 subjects tobacco smokers had a significantly higher risk to develop lung cancer than cannabis smokers after a mean observation period of 8.6 years. In addition, cannabis smokers had a significantly lower lung cancer risk than subjects, who did not smoke cannabis. In reply to the argument, Sidney and colleagues did not follow the participants of their study long enough to find an increased incidence of cancers in the cannabis group, they noted that "surprising enough, the follow-up period was sufficient to observe 179 cases of TRC [tobacco related cancers] (including lung) among TS [tobacco smokers]." If the cancer risk of tobacco smokers equals that of non-smokers, then 130 cases would be expected among tobacco smokers. In contrast, only three cases of tobacco related cancers were observed in cannabis smokers. If the incidence of tobacco related cancers in cannabis smokers equals that of non-smokers, "then 16 cases would be expected in MS [marijuana smokers]." (Source: Chen AL, Chen TJ, Braverman ER, Acuri V, Kemer M, Varshavskiy M, Braverman D, Downs WB, Blum SH, Cassel K, Blum K. Hypothesizing that marijuana smokers are at a significantly lower risk of carcinogenicity relative to tobacco-non- marijuana smokers: evidenced based on statistical reevaluation of current literature. J Psychoactive Drugs 2008;40(3):263-72.)