If you or someone you know has asthma, it’s really important to be aware of the impact alcohol, drugs and smoking can have.
Many common recreational drugs are known to trigger asthma symptoms or make long-term asthma worse;
- Cannabis (weed) can be an asthma trigger and can lead to long-term lung damage because it can be smoked/vaped and therefore inhaled into the lung. The smoke and aerosol irritate the airways significantly increasing the risk of an asthma attack, wheezing and coughing.
- Cocaine can worsen asthma symptoms and can cause asthma attacks both when smoked and snorted. Cocaine induced bronchospasm can lead to asthma attacks.
- Smoking crack cocaine can cause serious lung damage.
- Ketamine and hallucinogens, such as LSD (acid), can lead to breathing problems, if mixed with alcohol because it can cause your breathing to become slow and shallow.
- Heroin and other opioids, such as fentanyl, may cause your breathing to slow down and block air from entering your lungs, making asthma symptoms worse.
- Drugs you inhale, such as poppers or nitrous oxide (laughing gas), can irritate your lungs and trigger asthma symptoms.
- Ecstasy (including MDMA) can cause dangerous reactions in people with asthma. This is because ecstasy can lead to sudden exertion, increased heart rate, breathlessness, overheating and dehydration which can trigger asthma symptoms.
- Alcohol can affect people with asthma also. Alcoholic beverages often contain histamines and sulphates that can trigger asthma attacks.