A new study found that inhaling cannabis on a daily basis is linked to a higher risk of developing asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The corresponding study was published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
Previous research has indicated that cannabis use may cause chronic pulmonary disease. Results, however, have been limited by low cannabis exposure, insufficient data on tobacco cigarette use, and limited numbers of participants not using tobacco cigarettes.
In the current study, researchers analyzed survey data from around 380,000 adults. Data included past-30-day cannabis use and self-reported diagnoses of asthma or COPD. Around 23,000 individuals reported inhaled cannabis use, and 222,000: no lifetime use of tobacco cigarettes. ‘Inhaling cannabis’ was defined as smoking, vaping, and ‘dabbing’, which involves inhaling concentrated cannabis vapors.
Ultimately, they found that inhaling cannabis every day was linked to a 44% higher chance of developing asthma and a 27% higher chance of developing COPD. Among participants who had never smoked cigarettes, the researchers found that inhaling cannabis everyday was linked to a 51% higher risk of developing asthma. Risk for COPD was also higher among these individuals, although not statistically significant.
The study comes after a systematic review and meta-analysis published in January 2025, which also found a significant risk between cannabis use and higher odds of having asthma.
“The message about smoking tobacco being bad for you has gotten out there, but for cannabis, it’s much less clear. If people are looking to reduce their likelihood of developing a chronic lung disease, they should not start using cannabis. And if they already smoke cannabis, they should do it less often,” said first author of the paper, Alison Rustagi, MD, PhD, assistant professor at the University of California-San Francisco, in a press release.
Sources: Journal of General Internal Medicine, EurekAlert, BMC Pulmonary Medicine
