Smoking cannabis regularly can lead to gum disease in people in their early thirties – much younger than generally expected. Lifestyle factors associated with the condition are also linked to chronic diseases later in life, and some argue that gum disease itself may contribute to cardiovascular disease directly.

A quarter of people who had smoked cannabis regularly from 18 to 32 years old had established gum disease, found the study led by Murray Thomson at the Dunedin School of Dentistry in New Zealand.

In 2007, the same team showed that smoking tobacco also significantly raises the risk of gum disease in young people (Journal of Clinical Periodontology, vol 34, page 828)