How bad is smoking weed for your lungs?

Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, told CBS News in an email, "while casual marijuana use may not reflect an immediate decrease in lung function, marijuana smoke contains high levels of tar, which is bad for your health." Glatter said smoking marijuana could lead to chronic coughing, wheezing and potentially chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). read more

Due to the risks it poses to lung health, the American Lung Association strongly cautions the public against smoking marijuana as well as tobacco products. More research is needed into the effects of marijuana on health, especially lung health. read more

The news: Conventional wisdom generally says inhaling any kind of smoke is bad for your lungs, and, to that end, smoking marijuana is just as bad for your health as smoking tobacco cigarettes. However, according to data recently published in the journal Annals of the American Thoracic Society, inhaling one marijuana cigarette a day over 20 years is not associated with adverse changes in lung health. read more