When you smoke, you inhale 4,000 chemical compounds into your lungs which your body is not equipped to cope with. About a tenth of them are poisonous and at least 80 can give you cancer. Your respiratory system is under severe pressure if you smoke, and you will find you are often short of breath, wheezing and coughing. Eventually, you may have to choose to either quit smoking or quit breathing.
Smoking and Your Lungs
When you smoke, small pieces of tar and gas containing carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide go directly to your lungs, which are the organs that allow you to breathe. The small pieces of tar damage the cells in the airways of your lungs. Your body naturally sends more cells to protect the damaged lungs, but more smoke kills these too. When they die, they release substances that make your lungs unable to function properly. According to The Lung Association, smoking damages your lungs' repair system, traps cancerous chemicals in your lungs and permanently damages their air sacs, making it difficult to breathe. You will struggle to get the oxygen you need and to get rid of the carbon dioxide you do not need.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most common lung diseases, explains the U.S. National Institutes of Health, and it makes it hard for you to breathe. Smoking is the leading cause of COPD, although exposure to gas and fumes contributes, and the amount you smoke per day and how long you have smoked determine the likelihood of contracting COPD. At ages 35 to 45, your lungs start to deteriorate naturally. This is when you are most susceptible to COPD. The worse your lungs get, the more you experience breathlessness, until you are hospitalized and then killed by slow, progressive breathlessness.
Bronchitis and Emphysema
The two main forms of COPD are bronchitis and emphysema. Bronchitis inflames your lungs, making breathing difficult, and your airways become clogged with mucus. When it lasts longer than three months, it is considered chronic bronchitis. You will experience breathlessness, coughing, mucus, wheezing and respiratory infections. Emphysema inflates your air sacs and damages lung tissue, causing breathlessness. Airways collapse and your lungs cannot get rid of tar and carbon monoxide. These diseases are the fourth most common cause of death in the U.S. and the mortality rate is rising as of 2010.
Treatment
You cannot be cured of COPD, but you can alleviate symptoms and prevent it from getting worse. Inhalers can open your airways and a doctor may prescribe steroids, which you inhale or administer intravenously to reduce lung infection. In some cases, surgery may be possible to remove cysts. You should avoid smoky areas and cold air, get plenty of exercise and eat a healthy, balanced diet high in fruit and vegetables.
Other Diseases
Smoking may give you tuberculosis of the lungs, which kills two-thirds of sufferers after five years. If you are asthmatic, smoking makes breathing even more difficult. Worst of all, smoking causes lung cancer.
Quitting
Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do for your respiratory system. After around three months, your lung capacity will increase by a tenth, and breathing problems, coughing and wheezing will fade.
Considerations
Passive smoking can result in breathlessness, coughing, wheezing, mucus and eventually lung cancer or COPD, so avoid smoky areas.
