Smoking and vaping cannabis can irritate the lungs, but can marijuana increase your risk of catching a cold or flu? The science offers some clues, but few definitive answers.
Nothing says fall like the first cold or flu – not just for yourself – but for friends and co-workers or upend plans around being sick. Â Sometimes all you want to do it chill, but if what about marijuana when you have a cold or flu? The answer depends partly on how cannabis is consumed, which symptoms someone has and what the research actually shows.
There is always the go to things like soup, orange juice, sleep, water, tea, honey and steam. Â But cannabis may help some people manage discomfort, nausea or poor appetite. Currently, there is little clinical evidence it helps treats a cold or flu symptoms and inhaling smoke or vapor can add irritation to already inflamed airways. Â But if you consume, there are some upsides.
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Smoking cannabis can irritate the respiratory system, but claims it increases cold risk while leaving flu risk unchanged go beyond the available evidence. Cannabis smoke contains many of the same irritants found in tobacco smoke. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns smoking marijuana can damage lung tissue and contribute to coughing, mucus production and bronchitis.
Those effects can make a respiratory illness more uncomfortable. But whether smoking cannabis makes someone more likely to catch a cold is less clear. Research has not established a direct causal link, and there is insufficient human evidence to conclude cannabis smokers face a higher risk of catching influenza.
A 2023 study published in the European Respiratory Journal raised concerns about cannabis smoke and flu. Researchers found repeated exposure increased influenza virus levels in the lungs of mice and altered immune responses. Interestingly, they do not prove the same effect occurs in humans.
Vaping avoids burning plant material, but it does not eliminate respiratory risks. Cannabis vaping can expose users to harmful substances, and THC vaping products have been linked to serious lung injury, particularly during the 2019 outbreak associated largely with products containing vitamin E acetate.
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Scientists have not established whether vaping cannabis increases the likelihood of catching a cold or flu. Still, taking a break from vaping while sick is a sensible precaution, particularly for people with asthma or other lung conditions.
Some cannabis users turn to marijuana for pain, nausea, appetite or sleep. THC can affect pain perception and stimulate appetite, while cannabinoids have shown anti-inflammatory effects in laboratory studies. Like many over the counter drugs, it treats the symptoms but not the cause and it is always better not to have too much so you body can focus on healing.
