Exposure to marijuana smoke may increase risk of children’s respiratory infections: Study

*As more countries and states legalise the medicine, experts are worried about the long-term health implications for kids

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

Researchers from the Wake Forest School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Colorado, in the United States, in a fresh study explored the health risks associated with children’s exposure to marijuana.

The study findings revealed that kids exposed to second-hand marijuana smoke may have an increased risk for respiratory infections.

Adam Johnson, one of the researchers, said: “The negative impact that exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke can have on children’s health has been extensively studied but the impact of secondhand marijuana smoke on young children is unclear.

“Our findings identify the potential for increased respiratory infections in children exposed to secondhand marijuana smoke.

“This could have significant health care implications as more states in the USA move towards legalising recreational marijuana use.”

In connection with health risks of marijuana exposure for the study, the researchers analysed survey responses from nearly 1,500 parents and caregivers living in Colorado — a state where marijuana is legal for both medical and recreational purposes in the US. All of the parents involved in the study had a child under 12 years old visit the emergency room between 2015 and 2017.

They answered questions about their children’s medical histories and their marijuana and tobacco use, including where they typically use the drugs and their children’s level of exposure.

Roughly 10 percent of the caregivers involved in the study reported using marijuana on a regular basis, compared to more than 19 percent of parents who reported regularly smoking tobacco.

Ultimately, this impacted their children’s health.

Parents who smoked marijuana reported that their children experienced viral respiratory infections more frequently than parents who didn’t smoke, said the researchers.

However, they also discovered that side effects that are typically tied to primary marijuana use, including asthma flare-ups or ear infections, weren’t impacted by secondhand exposure to marijuana.

Moreover, none of the parents reported an uptick in trips to the emergency room as a result of exposure to marijuana smoke.

While the researchers plan to do more work in this area, especially in areas where marijuana isn’t legal, they hope that these initial findings highlight some of the risks associated with exposing children to secondhand marijuana smoke.

Johnson further stated: “Our findings highlight the prevalence of marijuana use among parents and caregivers and indicate which children may be more likely to be exposed to secondhand marijuana smoke in a U.S. state where recreational and medical marijuana use is legal.

“These findings could be used to help target and shape public health messaging aimed at parents and caregivers in order to raise awareness of the potential negative impacts that secondhand marijuana smoke exposure can have on children’s health.”