MARIJUANA USE RAISES CANCER RISK: STUDY

WASHINGTON (Special) - Current and past smokers of marijuana face an
increased risk of developing cancer of the head and neck, including
tumours of the mouth, throat and larynx, a new study has found.

The study, the first to link marijuana with such cancers, suggests the
drug's popularity in recent decades could have serious long-term
health consequences for some users.

Marijuana smoke is higher in tar and carcinogens than tobacco smoke,
and researchers predict it will also be found to increase the
lung-cancer risk.

Cancers of the mouth, throat or larynx cause more than 13,000 deaths
in North America every year, but they are often curable if caught
early. Smoking (of cigarettes, pipes or cigars), chewing or sniffing
tobacco, and drinking alcohol are already proven risk factors.

Study author Zuo-Feng Zhang, a professor of epidemiology at the
University of California, said marijuana users tended to inhale
deeply, depositing four times more particulate matter in the mouth,
throat and windpipe than cigarette smokers. Their risk of head and
neck cancer was 2.6 times greater than among those who'd never used
the drug.

WASHINGTON POST