A new study shows that young adults who smoke marijuana on a regular basis are more prone to gum disease as compared to those who do not smoke. In a study published in the Feb. 6 edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association, gum disease was more prevalent in people above 32 years of age.

The study of 903 young adults from New Zealand showed that people who smoked the most marijuana were 60 percent more likely to show evidence of gum disease than 32-year-olds who had never smoked pot. Almost one in three people had some evidence of gum loss.

Lead researcher Professor Murray Thomson, of the University of Otago told WebMD, "We found that about a fifth of the participants actually had adult gum disease in their mid-20s and by age 32 the number was just under a third."

"It is clear that smoking -- whether it is tobacco or cannabis -- damages the gums," Thompson added.

It was also found that inconsistent marijuana users also had more evidence of gum disease than non-smokers, but not as much as frequent users.

Gum disease, one of the most common diseases of adulthood, is the second most common cause of tooth loss, after tooth decay.

The research team also included scientists from King's College London, Duke University and the University of North Carolina.