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Tobacco & Cannabis

Smokeline: 0800 84 84 84

Quit: 0800 00 22 00

Cannabis and tobacco are both smoked, often together. Here are the facts - how using them can affect you, what the law says and how to reduce the risks. This information is also available as a leaflet for teenagers: Fags 'n hash (pdf).

How are they used?

Tobacco

usually smoked in cigarettes
in roll-ups using cigarette papers
sometimes smoked in pipes or as cigars.

There are over 4000 chemicals in tobacco and some cause cancer. Cigarettes are an efficient way of getting smoke and a hit of nicotine to your brain.

The manufacturers design cigarettes, and use additives, to make them more appealing and addictive.

Cannabis
is usually found in two main forms -

dried leaves and/or flowering tops of the plant (grass, weed)
blocks of resin (hash, pot, blow).

Both forms are often mixed with tobacco and smoked in joints (home made cigarettes) or in pipes (bongs).

Less often, cannabis is mixed with food, taken as a tea or eaten on its own

Why are they used?

People use cannabis and tobacco for their effects. With any drug, the effects depend partly on your mood, personality and the environment.

People who smoke describe it as relaxing and making them feel more at ease and they often smoke to be sociable.

Cannabis is a mild hallucinogen, which means it can alter the way you see the world. Those who use it say the most common effects are:

relaxation
talkativeness
a greater appreciation of sounds, colours, tastes, etc.

And the down-side?

The smoke from burning cannabis or tobacco or both contains poisonous gases - that reduce your blood’s ability to carry oxygen - and tars, which can cause cancer.

When you smoke, these go straight to your lungs. Smoking cannabis can give you even higher levels of cancer-causing tars, gases and chemicals than cigarettes. Smoking cannabis and tobacco multiplies the dangers.

Since filters cut out the THC (the active chemical in cannabis), only rolled cardboard is usually used in joints. The lack of filter and the fact that the smoke is often inhaled deeper and held in the lungs longer means that smoking cannabis and tobacco together is probably the most damaging way to use them.

There is no safe level of smoking. Half the people who smoke will die from it.

Tobacco -

can quickly become physically very addictive because of the nicotine it contains
you are more likely to catch colds and chest infections as a smoker
smoking ages your skin
smoking causes cancers, strokes, lung and heart diseases
tobacco is the single biggest killer in Scotland

Smoking is hard to stop, hard on your health and hard on your pocket.

Cannabis -

using cannabis makes some people feel anxious
in some people it can lead to paranoia and isolation
a common bad effect is the "whitey" - light-headedness, fainting and sometimes nausea. This is particularly associated with taking cannabis and alcohol
may make you less alert and can affect your decision-making and judgement, so it could be dangerous for you to drive or operate machinery when you are under its influence
can contribute to mental health problems.

Some industries - such as the gas, oil, rail and construction industries - regularly test employees for drugs.

If you are a regular user, cannabis can be detected in urine tests for up to 30 days after use and you could lose your job if you test positive. Some employers carry out drug tests at interview.

If you smoke cannabis or tobacco or both regularly, you may become dependant on using them and have withdrawal symptoms if you stop.

It can be hard to stop using tobacco. While your body gets rid of the chemicals in tobacco you might have:

cravings for nicotine
mood swings
panic attacks
headaches

You may also feel cut off from friends who continue to smoke.

Regular cannabis users who stop can experience:

restlessness
anxiety
sleeplessness

They may also feel isolated from friends who continue to use cannabis.

What does the law say?

It is illegal to sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 16. Shopkeepers can be fined up to £2500 for selling tobacco to under-age customers.
Cannabis is a Class B drug - the same as amphetamine (speed)
It is always illegal in Scotland to have cannabis grass or resin in your possession or to give it to someone else (this is treated as supplying even if no payment is involved).
First time offenders found with a small amount of cannabis that is considered to be for their own use may receive a warning from the procurator fiscal, may be fined, or may go to prison for up to five years for possession or up to 14 years for supplying (though this length of sentence is rare).
NB Cannabis is expected to be reclassified as a Class C drug in 2003. It will still be illegal to possess or supply the drug, but the maximum prison sentence for possession will be reduced to two years.
In some cases, a drugs conviction will always be on your record and can destroy your future job prospects and affect which countries you can visit or move to.

How can you reduce the harm?

You can reduce the risks by:

Tobacco:

There is no safe level of smoking - stopping is the only way to reduce harm to zero
Don’t leave smoking materials where younger members of the family could get hold of them. Every year, young children are admitted to hospital, having poisoned themselves by eating cigarette ends.

Cannabis:

Smoking cannabis with tobacco multiplies the damage to your mouth, throat and lungs - reduce the harm by smoking less
If you eat or drink cannabis it can be difficult to judge how much you’ve taken. It also takes longer to kick in and the effects can hit you suddenly and harder than you expect.
Hash is not produced in the most hygienic of conditions, it may come already mixed with other substances and with germs that are onlydestroyed by heating.
Limiting when you smoke cannabis may reduce the risk of becoming a heavy user.

Finally, don’t mix drugs - that includes alcohol. The effects can be unpredictable and dangerous.

More help

For more help and advice, try one of these numbers:

Smokeline : 0800 84 84 84
(advice on stopping smoking)

Know the Score : 0800 587 5879
(information on drugs)

Childline : 0800 11 11 11
(advice for children on any subject)

Scottish Child Law Centre : 0131 667 6333
(legal information for young people)

Gay & Lesbian helpline : 0207 837 7324
(support & advice regarding sexuality)

More information

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Scotland
(for information on tobacco and smoking)
8 Frederick Street
Edinburgh, EH2 2HB
Tel. 0131 225 4725
Website. www.ashscotland.org.uk

The Scottish Drugs Forum (SDF)
(for information on drugs and drug use)
5 Waterloo Street
Glasgow, G2 6AY
Tel. 0141 221 1175
Website.www.sdf.org.uk

West Lothian Drug and Alcohol Service
(for information and support on drugs including alcohol and tobacco)
47 Adelaide Street
Livingston, EH54 5HQ
Tel. 01506 430225

NHS Health Scotland
Woodburn House
Canaan Lane
EDINBURGH
EH10 4SG Tel: 0131 536 5500
Textphone: 0131 536 5503
Fax: 0131 536 5501
Website. www.healthscotland.com/

Fags & Hash was produced by ASH Scotland, SDF and West Lothian Drug and Alcohol Service.