Airwaves & Airways

With the legalization of cannabis in Canada in 2018, cannabis smoking has grown in popularity across many age groups, with over 5 million Canadians using the substance. Understanding how regular cannabis use affects lung health is critical for helping individuals make informed decisions and for guiding future healthcare recommendations. Dr. Janice Leung is the principal investigator conducting the CANUCK study at St. Paul Hospital. Funded by CIHR the Canadian Users of Cannabis Smoke study followed cannabis smokers for 3 years, looking at their lung symptoms, breathing tests, images, and lung cells. The results were compared to people who smoke cigarettes and people who do not smoke at all to determine health impacts. During this episode of Airwaves & Airways, we chat with Dr. Leung about the study, emerging patterns, and what's ahead for cannabis use research. 

In this final episode of our Lung on Fire mini-series, we'll be diving into the 3rd pillar of Lungs on Fire which focuses on decision making related to wildfire smoke. Dr. Stephanie Harvard is leading this research pillar alongside Dr. Nick Bansback and Dr. Pat Camp. Tune in as Dr. Harvard talks more about how this qualitative study component of the project will help to identify values amongst communities, help to fill in informational and resource gaps, and inform clinical, public health, and community wildfire smoke messaging that can be used by organization, clinicians, and communities. 

Welcome to episode 2 of our Airwaves & Airways special summer series, where we're diving into Lungs on Fire, a 5-year grant funded by CIHR that is looking into the long-term health effects of wildfire smoke across 3 research pillars. The project includes leading researchers in the field of wildfire smoke who will collaborate across experimental, epidemiological, and social science. 
In this episode, we chat about the 2nd research pillar, which focuses on socioeconomic factors that lead to the development of lung disease, to do this, the research team will be analyzing the characteristics of people and how it affects risk of lung disease. Dr. Emily Brigham discusses her ongoing work with Dr. Michael Brauer as they work to identify characteristics that can contribute to disproportionately affected populations in order to develop solutions and improve health equity.

As wildfires grow more intense and frequent in British Columbia, some of the best and brightest minds in lung health research in British Columbia have come together to collaborate on ‘Lungs On Fire’. This 5-year, 2 million dollar grant funded by CIHR (Canadian Institutes of Health Research) will further investigate the long-term health effects of wildfire smoke and how wildfire smoke exposure can impact individuals differently across 3 research pillars. The research produced through Lungs On Fire will focus on exploring wildfire smoke exposures, measuring the impacts of air pollution on lung disease (asthma and COPD), identifying lung cancer risk from pollution among non-smokers, and evaluating and catering health messages for the public.   
Over the summer, Airwaves & Airways will be featuring an episode focused on each of the 3 research pillars as we pull the curtain back on the research process and dive into this exciting new investigation that will shine a new light on the health impacts of wildfire smoke. This episode focuses on the experimental lab methods and administrative health data analysis pillar of the project. To learn more, we chat with Dr. Christopher Carlsten, and Dr. Stephanie Cleland about their work including the barriers, design, and hypotheses of their studies.  
Referenced links: 
Be sure to check out the Lungs On Fire 2025 Speaker Series featuring 4 different speakers discussing wildfire smoke and its impacts! Available on Legacy for Airway Health’s YouTube channel: Lungs On Fire Speaker Series 1: What Should Be the Goals of Public Health Guidance? 
Sign up to view future presentations by emailing Dr. Stephanie Harvard at stephanie.harvard@ubc.ca 

In this month's episode we chat about firefighting and lung health and explore the respiratory risks associated with increased exposure to smoke, and how firefighters can keep themselves protected while on the job. As we head into wildfire season, many communities are bracing for smoky conditions as the fires are becoming more frequent and intense every year. Wildfires produce significant amounts of smoke, and our firefighters are the first responders to tackle these dangerous conditions. So, when your duty requires you to expose yourself to dangerous chemicals and particulates, how do you mitigate risk, and how can firefighters stay prepared and stay safe while on the job?  To learn more, we are joined by Tom DeSorcy, Retired Fire Chief from Hope, BC, and BC Lung’s Board Chair, and Brian Hutchinson, the Superintendent of Provincial Operations – Fire Services with the BC Wildfire Service, and the former Fire Chief of the District of North Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services. 
 
Referenced links: 
National Fire Protection Association Standard –NFPA 1981 - https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-1981-standard-development/1981 
Register for Climb the Wall 2026 - https://secure3.convio.net/bclung/site/TR?fr_id=1150&pg=entry 

Tuberculosis, also known as “TB” is a disease caused by bacteria that usually attacks the lungs. Despite being preventable and treatable, TB remains one of the top infectious disease killers worldwide. World TB Day is March 24th and commemorates the day that Dr. Robert Koch shared his discovery of the bacterium that causes TB, leading to advancements in diagnosing and treating TB. It is a day to remember the immense devastation that TB has had and continues to have worldwide, including Canada. 
In honour of World TB Day, we chat with Dr. Jay Johnston, the Evaluation Lead for Provincial TB Services at the BC Centre for Disease Control, and the former Head of Respiratory Medicine Division at Vancouver General Hospital. Tune in to learn more about the history of TB, barriers to preventing TB, and emerging research in eradicating this disease. 
 
Referenced links: 
Dr. Johnston is the President of the North American region of the International Union against TB and Lung Diseases (The Union). The Annual TB Conference was held in Vancouver this year from Feb 26 – March 1. You can view the conference presentations at bclung.ca/nar. 
For more information about TB and you can visit the World Health Organization’s website: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/tuberculosis 
For information on how to support and advocate you can visit stoptb.org.  
Visit the BC CDC’s website for info on TB testing and tuberculosis clinics in the lower mainland: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/tuberculosis 

On this episode of Airwaves & Airways we're chatting about patient engagement! Patient engagement involves building a collaborative relationship between patients, caregivers, researchers, and decision makers. There are many benefits to having patients and their caregivers involved throughout the research process. This practice is becoming increasing integrated into research as it allows patients to contribute firsthand experiences, identify gaps in healthcare, and confirm that research and studies are relevant and valuable to help improve care. 
One organization making great strides with patient engagement is Legacy for Airway Health, who has developed a Community Partner Committee, comprised of around 14 individuals from diverse backgrounds affected by COPD or asthma. So, to chat about patient-oriented research, we are joined by Dr. Stephanie Harvard (researcher) and Tony Lanier (patient partner) to learn more about this innovative research process. If you’d like to learn more about patient engagement and patient-oriented research, you can visit Legacy for Airway Health’s website at legacyairwayhealth.ca.  
 
Additional resources: 
Patient and Citizen Engagement in Research: https://sporevidencealliance.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/6.-SPOREA-COVIDEND_Patient-and-Citizen-Engagement-Tips.pdf 
Difference between patient partner and patient participant: What is POR? | Patient-Oriented Research Repository (ubc.ca) 
Tips for being a patient partner (Page 1): Patient Engagement - Teams (healthresearchbc.ca) 
Tips for research teams (Page 2): Patient Engagement - Teams (healthresearchbc.ca) 
Interested in learning about what frequently used health research terms mean? Try using: CIHR Jargon Buster: https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/48952.html 

Airwaves & Airways is back with the 1st episode for 2025! For National Non-Smoking Week, we're talking about QuitNow! To support British Columbians in going smoke and vape free, the government of British Columbia has funded QuitNow, a free program to quit or reduce nicotine, which is delivered by BC Lung Foundation. Sheila Matano, Director of Health Promotion and Tobacco Interventions for QuitNow, discusses common obstacles, strategies, and support addressed through the program to demonstrate how QuitNow is designed to support everyone in their quit journey! To learn more about QuitNow and how to get started on your quit journey, visit quitnow.ca. You can also call the help line by dialing 1-877-455-2233.