Published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, a new study suggests a link between cannabis use and cigarette smoking. The study found that non-smokers and former smokers who use marijuana had a better chance of smoking cigarettes than those who didn’t.
The Study’s Findings
Researchers at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and the City University of New York published the study. They surveyed 34,639 people around the country in obtaining their results.
The research looks at the correlation between marijuana and cigarette smoking. It discovered three tendencies. First, those who smoke weed had a higher chance of smoke cigarettes than those who didn’t. Second, those who used to smoke, and now smoke weed, are likely to take up the habit again. And third, those who smoke cigarettes would, in all likelihood, keep smoking.
According to the study, smokers are over five times as likely as non-smokers to use marijuana daily.
Additionally, researchers identified two groups amongst cannabis users: those with a cannabis use disorder and those without. They defined having a ‘cannabis use disorder’ as when it’s challenging to cut back on marijuana, or when cannabis use results in behavioral problems.
According to the National Institute of Health, “Marijuana use disorder is common and often untreated.”
The study also found that the correlation between marijuana use and smoking applied even to those whom researchers did not identify as having a cannabis use disorder.
Why Are These Findings Significant?
According to study author Renee Goodwin, “Developing a better understanding of the relationship between marijuana use and cigarette use transitions is critical and timely as cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of premature death and disease, and use of cannabis is on the rise in