Light Smoking of Cigarettes and Marijuana - Long Term Damage to Aerobic Capacity?

Question

Hi. I've had a pretty light history with smoking and am wondering the extent of damage I've caused, specifically relating to my aerobic capacity. My main concern is damage to my alveolar sacs and the the lost potential in my achievable V02 Max.

- In a 2 1/2 year history with cigarettes, I've smoked an estimated 100 cigarettes (maximum 150).

- In a 1 1/2 year history with marijuana, I've smoked an estimated 60-80 joints (maximum 100-125).

- In a 1/2 year history with hookah (waterpipe), I've participated in an estimated 20 sessions (maximum 40).

I've thought a long time about those estimates, and that is the best I can come up with.

Any thoughts as to damage I've caused to my maximum achievable aerobic capacity? I cannot find any studies on this amount of smoking.

My personal thought is that if any damage has been caused, it is minimal, since this is a comparatively small amount of smoking. With that said, I have competed at levels in my sport (an endurance sport) where "minimal" is a big thing, so I'd like to know (especially if an M.D. is roaming the boards) what "minimal" is, and how much this will hurt my overall aerobic capacity in the long term.

Thanks for any help, seriously.

Answer 1

Unfortunately, no specific calculation/method is available to determine the sustained damage.  There have been many studies performed regarding smoking and it's effects but no medical description in terms of quantity vs. sustained effect has been released (to my knowledge).  In terms of sustained damage/inhibiting the alveoli, I can not say for sure, but smoking does add to the anatomical "dead space".  Unfortunately I am unable to provide you with more information than this.  If this knowledge is essentially important to you consider visiting a respiratory clinician.  There are many tools available at their disposal including a spirometer.