Doctors warn smoking weed – even just occasionally – could increase risk of Covid-19

International media has been reporting that medical doctors have warned  smoking marijuana even just occasionally could increase y risk of suffering complications from the novel coronavirus.

The virus causes Covid-19, a respiratory disease that can progress from mild illness to viral pneumonia and organ failure.

Doctors say cannabis leads to inflammation in the lungs, which affects the body’s ability to fight off the virus.

They did not mention any side effects from smoking tobacco.

“What happens to your airways when you smoke cannabis is that it causes some degree of inflammation, very similar to bronchitis, very similar to the type of inflammation that cigarette smoking can cause,” pulmonologist Dr Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer for the American Lung Association, told CNN.

Some studies and anecdotal reports suggest marijuana can help people cope with anxiety, which is being felt deeply across the world as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

But lung health experts warn that smoking marijuana regularly could increase a person’s risk of contracting Covid-19, and also having more severe symptoms and complications from the disease,

Additionally, physicians say using cannabis could make it harder for symptoms of Covid-19 to be diagnosed.

This is because one of the symptoms is a dry cough, but that same cough can be brought on by using weed.

It’s well-known that those with chronic lung diseases, such as COPD, are among the most at risk of suffering severe complications from coronavirus.

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