MARIJUANA CANCER RISK

LOS ANGELES: People who habitually smoke marijuana may be at greater risk
of developing mouth and throat cancers than people who do not smoke the
illegal drug, according to a study published yesterday.

The study of 340 people was conducted at the Jonsson Cancer Centre of the
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

It included 173 people diagnosed with mouth and throat cancers and 176
cancer-free control patients.

People who smoke marijuana regularly were found to be at higher risk of
mouth and throat cancers than those who did not, the study concluded.

Zuo-Feng Zhang, director of UCLA's cancer epidemiology training program,
said researchers were able to evaluate the data on marijuana smoking
independently from tobacco smoking and alcohol use.

Many people who smoked a lot of marijuana in the 1960s may just now be
contracting cancers of the mouth, tongue, larynx and pharynx from the
practice, Mr Zhang said.

"Most people don't think about marijuana in relationship to cancer," he
said. "The carcinogens in marijuana are much stronger than those in tobacco."