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A somewhat misleading infographic concerning the amount of tar deposited in smokers' lungs by marijuana is frequently shared on social media sites: The American Lung Association (ALA) does note that marijuana smoke contains four times as much tar as tobacco-based cigarette smoke: However, although it may be true that marijuana smoke deposits more tar into a smoker's lungs than tobacco smoke, the above-displayed photograph does not accurately depict the difference in overall harm caused to a tobacco smoker's lungs versus a marijuana smoker's lungs. Marijuana contains many of the same cancer-causing chemicals as tobacco smoke, but a recent study found no link between marijuana and an increased risk of lung cancer. According to Dr. Hal Morgenstern, a University of Michigan epidemiologist, this factor was likely attributable to the differences between marijuana and tobacco use: However, a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that even heavy marijuana smokers did not have an increased risk of developing lung cancer: Donald Tashkin, a UCLA pulmonologist who has studied marijuana for 30 years, hypothesized that the chemical THC may prevent the cancer-causing chemicals in marijuana smoke from negatively affecting the body: In conclusion, although it may be true that marijuana smoke deposits more tar into the lungs than tobacco smoke, current evidence does not indicate that the former results in proportionally greater deleterious health affects.
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