Doctors at the Victoria Hospital in St. Lucia are calling on the public particularly young men and women to desist from the dangerous practice of smoking marijuana mixed with tobacco, which is literally killing them but not before making them “Res-pi-ra-tory Cripples.”
According to the St. Lucia News Online, Medical Director at Victoria Hospital, Dr. Lisa Charles said over the past 10 years she has seen an epidemic emerging with an increased number of young patients suffering with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or COPD, an extremely debilitating, progressive disease which directly affects the lungs.
“We are talking about young men and women in their thirty’s with end stage lung disease. And by end stage lung disease I mean they are no longer able to carry out any normal activity, such as cooking walking from the bed to the bathroom because of severe shortness of breath.” Dr. Charles stated.
The Medical Director indicated that available bed space at the Victoria Hospital is severely compromised as a result of this increasing epidemic of COPD in patients.
