How does cigarette smoke affect the lungs?

  Damage of the lungs begins early in smokers, and all cigarette smokers have a lower level of lung fu

Damage of the lungs begins early in smokers, and all cigarette smokers have a lower level of lung function than nonsmokers. Cigarette smoking causes several lung diseases that can be just as dangerous as lung cancer. Chronic bronchitis -- a disease where the airways produce excess mucus, which forces the smoker to cough more often -- is a common ailment of smokers.

Cigarette smoking is also the major cause of emphysema -- a disease that slowly destroys a person’s ability to breathe. For oxygen to reach the blood, it must move across large surfaces in the lungs. Normally, thousands of tiny sacs make up the surface area in the lungs. When emphysema occurs, the walls between the sacs break down and create larger but fewer sacs. This decreases the amount of oxygen reaching the blood. Eventually, the lung surface area can become so small that a person with emphysema often must gasp for breath.

Shortness of breath (especially when lying down), a chronic mild cough (which is often dismissed as "smoker’s cough"), feeling tired, and sometimes weight loss are early symptoms of emphysema. People with emphysema are at risk for many other complications resulting from weakened lung function, including pneumonia. In later stages of the disease, patients can only breathe comfortably with the help of an oxygen tube under the nose. Emphysema cannot be reversed, but it can be slowed down--especially if the patient stops smoking.

More than 7 million current and former smokers suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the name used to describe both chronic bronchitis and emphysema. COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in America, and the number of women dying from the disease is higher than the number of men. Smoking is the primary risk factor for COPD. About 80% to 90% of COPD deaths are caused by smoking. The late stage of chronic lung disease is one of the most miserable of all medical conditions. It creates a feeling of gasping for breath all the time -- similar to the feeling of drowning.

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