Quitting Smoking and Your Lungs

If cigarettes were military top brass planning a war on your lungs and if you could eavesdrop on their battle plans, you'd probably hear an exchange something like this:

Lt Col:
General sir, I think I speak for the entire staff when I say that our efforts to come up with a new plan this year have again fallen miserably short in every respect. It appears our old tried and true approach over the past decades remains the best plan we've ever had and ever will have.

We've used it to infiltrate countless. Our record speaks loudly and proudly for itself: The plan is flawless. It's successfully killed or maimed hundreds of millions of smokers and is socking to the American public for over $150 billion a year in related health costs.

General:
Gentlemen, are you all again in agreement this year with the colonel?

All:
Indeed we are sir, to a man!

Captain:
General, sir, We know that the most susceptible defense of our enemy is the bronchial lining, sir. It makes no sense to begin anywhere else when we've had such solid luck corrupting it in the past.

Major:
I must concur, General. Even with the first puff, the bronchi begin to swell and thicken. As the Captain notes, it's a veritable cake walk after that. As soon as the walls thicken, which begins happening immediately, the bronchial lining becomes predisposed to cancer. It’s too simple. As the old military adage goes, General, "If it works, don't fix it".

General:
And so you make an excellent point, Major. Moreover, we know from millions of smokers around the planet who continue to succumb year in and year out to this same old, tired, simple strategy that even with the first puff, smoke begins hacking away at the lung's natural defenses. I have to agree no strategy has ever proved better.

Lt Col:
And General, even the least soldier among us is able to dramatically increase the respiratory rate of anyone foolish enough to smoke. Once that simple objective has been achieved, the lungs must work a great deal harder. While they're busy doing so, we're introducing gasses that destroy the fragile tissues in the lungs and airways. Really, sir, it’s almost embarrassingly easy.

Major:
Agreed, sir, and there's all that mucus that starts building up in the lungs, for which we have to do no additional planning and zero additional work. The human system begins caving in on itself.

Lt Col:
Again I find myself having to agree, not to mention that the mucus becomes a breeding ground for all that nasty group of bacteria and viruses.

General:
I've always been amazed that even with all the choking smoke causes smokers and those nasty globs of sputum that get he coughs up, no one seems to stop long enough to put two and two together. You'd think they'd take the time to read up on how much more they're suddenly susceptible to flu and colds and coughs and bronchitis and infections -- but they don't. Actually, our job couldn't be any easier. We only need to sit back and let them hang themselves.

Captain:
I think what excites me most is how quickly our same reliable, if old, strategy allows us to impair the ability of white blood cells to resist the invading organisms once our infantry finally gets rolling and starts bringing in the heavier equipment like emphysema, stroke and heart disease.

Major:
And how about the knock-out punch we level on the scavenger cells, rendering them virtually incapable of removing foreign particles from the lungs!

Lt Col:
Gentlemen! Can there be anything more exciting than receiving confirmation that we've destroyed the elastin enzyme that keeps lungs flexible, predisposing our enemy to emphysema? At that point, we know we've got 'em! I tell you, men, amazing as a pair oflungs may think they are, and as valiant a battle as they admittedly put up, they're simply no match in the end.

But in my euphoria, I'm losing focus, and General, sir, I would just repeat that no new battle plan would seem necessary. What could work any better than the one we've used so successfully these hundreds of years? Attack the bronchi first and the battle is over!

General:
I concur entirely, gentlemen, and as much fun as we're all having rehashing our success, I say it was time we get back to work, so what say let's all get out there and do some infilitrating. Let the invasion begin and let’s see if we can’t get a record number of lungs to succumb again this year!

Tragically, one in three smokers dies an early death because of smoking. Lung cancer and smoking are best friends when it comes to claiming these lives, but heart disease, stroke and emphysema are not far behind.

Additionally, we now have research to show that second-hand smoke harms the health of non-smokers, causing a variety of breathing problems in children and cancer, emphysema and heart disease in adults.

While we're making positive strides in public places by making them smoke-free, cigarette smoking is still a "cool" part of the scene. They remain too easy to buy and even with the steep rise in their cost, they are still a cheap drug when compared to other illegal drugs.

Following is a list of the more common lung disorders, most of which associated with smoking and all of which will be at least severely aggravated by smoking:

• Asthma:
  An inflammatory disorder of the airways, Asthma is characterized by periodic attacks of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and coughing.

  Asthma irritates the airways to the lungs, restricting airflow to the lungs. During an attack, the muscles of the bronchial tree become tight and the lining of the air passages swells. This causes the wheezing sound that results. Mucus production is increased, creating a breeding ground for bacteria and viruses.

  Asthma attacks can last minutes to days. Attacks are separated by symptom-free periods. Shortness of breath is common in chronic cases.

  Asthma is often triggered by allergens inhaled into the lungs, such as pet dander and dust mites, but cockroach allergens, molds and pollens can also trigger attacks. Respiratory infections, cold air and even exercise can induce attacks, as well as can tobacco smoke, pollutants, stress and certain foods.

• Chronic bronchitis:
  Excessive bronchial mucus characterizes Chronic bronchitis, together with an inflammation of the bronchi, which are the main air passages in the lungs.

  Cigarette smoking is the chief cause of this disease, but second-hand smoke is now known to be a contributing cause. Exacerbating the problem are infections, air pollutants and allergies. No question, the longer and heavier smoking prevails, or contact with secondhand smoke becomes, the more severe chornic bronchitis tends to be.

  Chronic bronchitis is a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease affecting the lungs, and is grouped with emphysema and asthma as one of the leading causes of death in the U.S.

• Chylous effusions:
  A leakage of white fluid into the chest cavity, associated with LAM

• Dyspnea:
  Shortness of breath, associated with LAM.

• Emphysema:
  An insidious lung disease which damages the air sacs known as alveoli in the lungs. The air sacs are rendered incapable of deflating completely (known as hyperinflation) and are therefore not able to fill with fresh air. This results in an inadequate supply of oxygen to the body.

  Cigarette smoking is the most common cause of emphysema. It is now believe that smoke and other pollutants cause the release of certain chemicals within the lungs that then damage the air sacs. This damage increases and worsens over time, affecting the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the lungs as described above.

  There is a naturally occurring substance in the lungs that protects against damage known as alpha-1 antitrypsin. A deficiency exists in some individuals, increasing their risk of Emphysema.

• Hemoptysis:
  Usually a symptom of LAM, Hemoptysis is the coughing up of blood or sputum that is blood-stained.

• LAM (Lymphangioleiomyomatosis):
  This rather rare disorder is characterized by an unusual kind of muscle cell that invades the tissues of the lungs, airways, blood vessels and lymph vessels. These muscle cells lump together over time, obstructing the flow of air and prevent the lungs from being able to provide oxygen to the body. It is possible LAM is associated with the genetic disorder, Tuberous Sclerosis.

  LAM affects women exclusively, usually between puberty and menopause. Many of the early symptoms of LAM are similar to other lung diseases and diagnosis in the early stages may be difficult as a result. Blood tests, x-rays, tomography, biopsies and pulmonary function tests are among the means available for determining LAM.

  LAM is progressive and usually leads to death from pulmonary disorder within 10 years.

  Highly Recommended:
  
  

• Pneumothoraces:
  A leakage of air into the chest cavity, associated with LAM.

• Sarcoidosis:
  The cause of sarcoidosis remains unknown. It is a lung disease which inflammation of the lymph nodes, liver, eyes, skin and lungs occurs.

  Granulomas, which are clusters of macrophages and lymphocytes result. Hypersensitivity is a suspected cause, as are genetic predisposition, infections and certain chemicals.

As though our lungs were not exposed to enough natural predators, smoking claims millions of lives every year in the form of lung cancer.

A tragically large and growing number of babies are born prematurely due to prenatal maternal smoking, with equal blame shared by second-hand tobacco carcinogens exhaled from the lungs of other smokers.

Smoking now exacts a damning $150 billion dollars on Americans alone in health-care costs and lost productivity time.

When we smoke, we are exposing our lungs to at least 43 cancer-causing chemicals (200 by some counts). Smoking is the direct cause of most cases of emphysema and chronic bronchitis and is directly responsible for 89% of lung cancer cases. If you smoke, your wounds heal much more slowly, you can be made infertile and develop peptic ulcers, not to mention that it is the major factor leading to coronary heart disease and stroke.

An estimated 20 to 30 percent of low-birth weight babies come from smoking mothers. Smoking moms account for some 14% of preterm deliveries and about 10% of infant deaths from all causes. One research indicates that even babies of smoking mothers who seem to be born healthy can have narrowed airways.

Smoking moms are also associated with a range of problems in children, from ear infections and a higher disposition to asthma and colds, to sudden infant death syndrome.

Second-hand smoke is now estimated to cause lower respiratory infection in some 150,000 to 300,000 infants under 18 months old.

Everybody's lungs get a favor when we quit smoking.