They might be the last two words you’d expect to hear together – asthma cigarettes. Believe it or not, this was an actual remedy at one time. In 1901, the French novelist Marcel Proust (perhaps most famous as the author of In Search of Lost Time), wrote a letter in which he described his ongoing struggle with asthma, which he’d suffered since childhood. At one point or another, he had tried opium, caffeine, iodine, and morphine. His nose had been cauterized several times, and at one point he attempted a milk diet. However, his favored method of dealing with asthma attacks was inhaling smoke from anti-asthma cigarettes or powders.
Proust was hardly the first. As far back as 1550 BC, the Egyptians were inhaling the smoke of plants and various other substances to treat respiratory problems. The ancient Greeks and Indians also did the same. Throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, people smoked a concoction of stramonium, lobelia, tobacco, and potash. At the same time as this remedy was growing in popularity, so too was the smoking of cannabis and opium for both recreational and medicinal purposes, and they too were recommended for the treatment of asthma. The popularity began to wane in the mid-1900s, as access to cannabis dropped off and we started linking smoking to lung diseases and other health problems.
One of the ingredients in those early anti-asthma cigarettes, stramonium, does actually seem to have beneficial health effects. It promotes relaxation, and some people still take it as a supplement today, claiming that it helps with breathing problems.
Whatever the potential benefits of inhaling these plants, we know today that smoking can cause more harm than good. Marijuana smoke has about the same amounts of tar and up to 50 percent more carcinogens than tobacco smoke; sometimes it may have more because marijuana cigarettes tend to be unfiltered. Both types of smoke increase inflammation and can trigger symptoms such as a cough and wheeze.
One study of current marijuana smokers found that they are prone to chronic bronchitis, frequent phlegm, shortness of breath, frequent wheezing, chest sounds without a cold, and pneumonia. Like tobacco smokers, people who use marijuana are also at risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer.
Some early studies showed that marijuana could open airways, although it’s possible that this has more to do with the method of inhalation than the drug itself. People who smoke marijuana tend to take deeper inhales and hold their breath longer, which might expand the lungs or strengthen the chest walls.
While smoking marijuana isn’t the best idea for someone with asthma, other possibilities could be the use of vaporizers, edible marijuana, or the topical application of cannabidiol oils.
If you or a loved one need help with quitting drugs or alcohol, consider Asana Recovery. We offer medical detox, along with both residential and outpatient programs, and you’ll be supervised by a highly trained staff of medical professionals, counselors, and therapists. Call us any time at (949) 438-4504 to get started.
