Question: I smoking marijuana as dangerous as smoking tobacco? I see it getting more and more popular all the time and legal now in several states.

Dr. Hibberd's answer:

Definitely yes. No form of inhaling smoke into our lungs can be seen as anything less than a destructive habit. Even if you don’t inhale, the sensitive cilia of your airways are exposed to toxic byproducts that are worse for your health than any city’s pollution.

If you could only see what lungs of smokers look like, compared to those of non-smokers, on post-mortem exams, you would understand the extent of damage smoking causes.

The active products (nicotine in cigarettes or THC in marijuana) is not our only concern. The incineration and exposure of other components that accompany these products compound the damage to your lungs, and increase your risk of damage and malignancy to distant tissues as well.

The long-term risks are definitely not worth whatever short-term pleasures may come from smoking anything.