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Tobacco Control and Smoking

Factsheets - Smoking Causes Serious Lung Diseases

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Fact Sheet 12: Smoking causes serious lung diseases

Smoking causes serious lung diseases cigarette packet graphic warning picture.

Nearly everyone knows that smoking causes lung cancer, but did you know that smoking causes a number of other serious lung diseases? These include chronic bronchitis and emphysema, collectively known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).1

Smoking is the most important risk factor for COPD.2 In 2004, bronchitis, emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease accounted for 1,727 deaths in New Zealand. 3 More than 10,000 people were admitted to hospital from 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004 with a primary diagnosis of bronchitis, emphysema or COPD.4

When you inhale cigarette smoke, it bypasses the filtering action of the nose and damages the tissues of the lungs, leading to overproduction of mucus, among other things. Chronic bronchitis occurs when the airways in your lungs have become narrow and partly clogged with mucus.

People who suffer from chronic bronchitis cough more and experience breathlessness for months or even years. They are also more at risk of developing chest infections and pneumonia.1

Tobacco smoke also damages the air sacs in the lungs. Over time this leads to progressive loss of lung function and a condition known as emphysema. One sign of emphysema is shortness of breath. As the disease progresses, breathing becomes a major effort and may require supplementary oxygen.5 Most people who smoke around 20 cigarettes per day will have some degree of emphysema.6

Compared to non-smokers, someone who has previously smoked is more than five times as likely to develop emphysema/chronic bronchitis, and current smokers are more than six times as likely to suffer from emphysema/chronic bronchitis.7

Smoking causes 82 percent of emphysema/chronic bronchitis among males and 76 percent among females.8 However, a more recent report by the US Surgeon General attributes smoking as the cause of more than 90 percent of deaths due to COPD.9

Damage from emphysema is not reversible.1 However, quitting smoking will slow the rate of loss of lung capacity in chronic airways disease10 so it is still worthwhile. It also reduces the risk of many other diseases.

Want to quit smoking? The most important thing is to make a quit attempt. For help, talk to your doctor, pharmacist, quit smoking provider or call the Quitline on 0800 778 778 or visit The Quit Group web site at www.quit.org.nz

Sources:
1 The Australian Lung Foundation, COPD - Chronic Bronchitis & Emphysema. 2002. http://www.lungnet.org.au/copd/chronic-health.html (accessed 11/02/08)
2 Australian Lung Foundation and the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand. 2005. The COPD - X Plan: Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. http://www.copdx.org.au/guidelines/index.asp (accessed 11/02/08)
3 Ministry of Health: New Zealand Health Information Service 2007. Mortality 2004. Wellington, 2007. http://www.nzhis.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexns/stats (accessed 11/02/08)
4 Ministry of Health: New Zealand Health Information Service 2007. Selected Morbidity Data for Publicly Funded Hopsitals 1 July 2003 to 30 June 2004. Wellington, 2008. http://www.nzhis.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexns/publications (accessed 19/02/08)
5 American Council on Science and Health. Cigarettes: What the warning label doesn't tell you. Second edition. New York, American Council on Science and Health, 2003. http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubID.206/pub_detail.asp (accessed 11/02/08)
6 US Department of Health and Human Services. 1984. The Health consequences of smoking: chronic obstructive lung disease. A report of the Surgeon General . US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Office on Smoking and Health, 1984. http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/NN/B/C/C/S/_/nnbccs.pdf (accessed 11/02/08)
7 Holman & Armstrong et al. (1990). The quantification of drug caused morbidity and mortality in Australia 1988. Canberra: AGPS.
8 English & Holman et al. (1995). The quantification of drug caused morbidity and mortality in Australia 1992 edition. Canberra. AGPS.
9 US Department of Health and Human Services. 2004 The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the U.S. Surgeon General. Atlanta, Georgia. US Department of Health and Human Services, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, National Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004. http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/sgr/sgr_2004/index.htm (accessed 11/02/08)
10 Smoking Cessation Guidelines for Australian General Practice. 2004 Edition. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/health-pubhlth-publicat-document-smoking_cessation-cnt.htm/$FILE/smoking_cessation.pdf (accessed 11/02/08)


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Page last updated: 27 March 2008



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