Smoking and Lung Disease

Lung Cancer

• Tobacco smoke: Tobacco smoke(whether from smoking or secondhand smoke) is by far the most important risk factor for lung cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, 87% of all lung cancer cases involve tobacco. It is also responsible for the most deaths from lung cancer. (90% of the deaths from lung cancer in men and 85% of the deaths in women are due to cigarette smoking.) The cancer is caused by the over 4,000 harmful chemicals in the smoke – 60 of which are known carcinogens.
• Radon: Radon is a colorless , odorless and tasteless radioactive gas. It forms in rocks and soils. It can be found in mines and in homes in some parts of the country. Radon can also damage the lungs so therefore, people, especially smokers, exposed to it, are at increased risk for lung cancer.
• Asbestos and other substances: Those who work in certain jobs or industries, such as chemical industries and construction, have a higher incidence of lung cancer. Exposure to asbestos, arsenic, chromium, nickel, soot, tar and other substances can cause lung cancer.
• Air pollution:Air pollution may slightly increase the risk, with the risk to smokers being the highest.
• Family history of lung cancer:People who have a family member, like a father, mother, brother or sister, who has had lung cancer have a slightly higher risk – even if they don’t smoke.
• Personal history of lung cancer:Those who have already had lung cancer area at increased risk for developing a secondary lung tumor.
• Older people:Lung cancer primarily strikes those over 45 with the majority being over 65 when diagnosed.

Symptoms don’t often present themselves aggressively until the disease is in advanced stages. So by the time an individual develops symptoms, the cancer has usually spread. That is why it is critical to be routinely tested (even in the absence of symptoms) especially if exposed to one or more of the risk factors and/or is a smoker or non-smoker.

The symptoms of this lung disease include:

• a cough that gets worse or won’t go away
• Shortness of breath or trouble breathing
• Constant chest pain
• hoarseness
• frequent lung infections, such as pneumonia or bronchitis
• feeling tired all the time
• loss of appetite and/or weight loss with no know cause
• wheezing.

Most often these symptoms are not due to lung cancer but some other lung disease instead, so a differential diagnosis by a doctor is needed.

Facts about Lung Cancer

• Cancer is the second leading cause of death and was among the first disease causally linked to smoking.
Carcinogens in tobacco smoke damage important genes that control the growth of cells, causing them to grow abnormally or to reproduce too rapidly.
• The risk of lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes smokes and the number of years of smoking.
Smoking cigarettes that claim to be lower in tar does not substantially reduce the risk.
• Men who smoke one pack a day, increase their risk 10x that of non-smokers and two packs a day increases the risk to 25x that of non-smokers.
• Of the 180,000 people diagnosed in the US each year, 86% will die within 5 years of diagnosis.

COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the most common lung disease. There are two main forms of COPD:

• Chronic bronchitis, which is defined as a long term cough with mucus.
• Emphysema, which causes the lungs to lose their normal elasticity. Emphysema also makes the heart (particularly the right side) work harder. This strain on the heart can lead to a debilitating disease called cor pulmonale , in which the right atrium and ventricle enlarge and fail to adequately function.

Most people with COPD have a combination of both lung diseases.


Risk Factors of this Lung Disease

Smoking is the leading cause of COPD. The more someone smokes the more likely they will be to develop COPD.

Other risk factors would include:

• Exposure to certain gases or fumes in the workplace
• Exposure to heavy amounts of secondhand smoke and pollution
• Frequent use of cooking gas without proper ventilation.

Smoking is the leading cause of COPD. The more someone smokes the more likely they will be to develop COPD.

Other risk factors would include:

• Exposure to certain gases or fumes in the workplace
• Exposure to heavy amounts of secondhand smoke and pollution
• Frequent use of cooking gas without proper ventilation.

(The symptoms are the same for each lung disease so a differential diagnosis is needed.)

• Cough with mucus
• Shortness of breath that gets worse with mild activity
• Fatigue
• Frequent respiratory infections
• Wheezing

Medications used to help relieve the symptoms include:

• Inhalers to open the airways.
• Inhaled steroids to reduce lung inflammation.
• Antibiotics are prescribed during flare ups to avoid infections which can make COPD worse.

Things you can do around the house to ease the symptoms include:

• Avoiding very cold air.
• Making sure no one smokes in your home.
• Reducing air pollution by eliminating fireplace smoke and other irritants (You may want to consider getting an air purifier.)
• Eating a healthy diet

Asthma

Another very common lung disease is asthma.

Tobacco smoke is the most crucial irritant in your environment related to triggering asthma symptoms. Someone with asthma should not smoke or be exposed to passive smoke.

Being exposed to tobacco smoke leads to the following:

• Decreased lung function
• Increased need for asthma medicine
• More frequent absences from school and work.
• Perhaps worse is the fact that being exposed to maternal smoking is a strong risk factor for babies developing asthma. Infants whose mothers smoked when they were pregnant have double the risk for developing asthma,

Again the symptoms for asthma are the same for some of the other lung diseases and include: cough, wheezing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. Therefore, a doctor must make the differential diagnosis.

Risk factors can include:

• Gender. Childhood asthma is more common in boys than girls. The cause is unknown but the airway in a young male is smaller than when compared to the female’s airway. Around the age of 20, the ratio of asthma between men and women is the same. And finally, at age 40, more females than males have adult asthma.
• Family history. If your mother or father has asthma you will be more predisposed to get it. It is believed that about 60% of all asthma cases run in families.
• Smoking. Irritating substances in smoke settle in the moist lining of the airways and can cause an attack. Also, tobacco smoke damages the tiny hair-like structures in the airways called cilia. The cilia are therefore not effective in filtering dust and mucus which then accumulates in the airways. Smoking causes the lungs to make more mucus than normal so even more mucus builds up, triggering an attack.
• Breathing polluted air. Secondhand smoke is the combination of smoke from a burning cigar or cigarette and smoke exhaled by a smoker. Inhaling secondhand smoke can be more harmful than actually smoking. That’s because the smoke that burns off the end of a cigar or cigarette contains more harmful substances (tar, carbon monoxide, nicotine and others.) than the smoke inhales by the smoker. Indoor substances that can trigger an asthma attack include mold, fumes from household cleaners, and paints. Environmental factors such as pollution, sulfur dioxide, ozone, cold temperatures, and high humidity. Ozone, one of the components in smog, causes coughing, shortness of breath and chest pain – and can increase susceptibility to infection. Sulphur dioxide, another substance in smog, also irritates the airways and constricts the air passages resulting in an attack.
• Obesity. Asthma is 38% more common in overweight adults (BMI over 25 but less than 30) and nearly twice as common in obese adults (those with a BMI over 30)

After determining your personal risk factors for asthma, decide on the ones you can control and try to make some lifestyle changes. Avoidance of the risk factors you can control is crucial in preventing asthma symptoms.

If smoking is one of your risk factors, and since it is one of the most crucial, start developing your plan for quitting smoking today!

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