Smoking and COPD

Smoking is the leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Smoking is also a trigger for COPD flare-ups. Smoking damages the air sacs, airways, and the lining of your lungs. Injured lungs have trouble moving enough air in and out, so it's hard to breathe.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common lung disease. Having COPD makes it hard to breathe. There are two main forms of COPD:Chroni...

Image

 

Read Article Now Book Mark Article

Information

Things that make COPD symptoms worse are called triggers. Knowing what your triggers are and how to avoid them can help you feel better. Smoking is a trigger for many people who have COPD. Smoking can cause an exacerbation, or flare-up, of your symptoms.

You do not have to be a smoker for smoking to cause harm. Exposure to someone else's smoking (called secondhand smoke) is also a trigger for COPD flare-ups.

Smoking damages your lungs. When you have COPD and smoke, your lungs will get damaged more rapidly than if you were to stop smoking.

Quit Smoking

Quitting smoking is the best thing you can do to protect your lungs and keep your COPD symptoms from getting worse. This can help you stay more active and enjoy life.

Tell your friends and family about your goal to quit. Take a break from people and situations that make you want to smoke. Keep busy with other things. Take it 1 day at a time.

Ask your health care provider to help you quit. There are many ways to quit smoking, including:

Ways to quit smoking

There are many ways to quit smoking. There are also resources to help you. Family members, friends, and co-workers may be supportive. But to be su...

Image

 

Read Article Now Book Mark Article

• Medicines

  Medicines

  Your health care provider can prescribe medicines to help you quit tobacco use. These medicines do not contain nicotine and are not habit-forming. ...

   

  Read Article Now Book Mark Article
• Nicotine replacement therapy

  Nicotine replacement therapy

  Nicotine replacement therapy is a treatment to help people stop smoking. It uses products that supply low doses of nicotine. These products do not ...

   

  Read Article Now Book Mark Article
• Support groups, counseling, or stop-smoking classes in person or online

  Support groups

  It is hard to quit smoking if you are acting alone. Smokers usually have a much better chance of quitting with a support program. Stop smoking prog...

   

  Read Article Now Book Mark Article

It is not easy, but anyone can quit. Newer medicines and programs can be very helpful.

List the reasons you want to quit. Then set a quit date. You may need to try quitting more than once. And that's OK. Keep trying if you do not succeed at first. The more times you try to quit, the more likely you are to be successful.

Avoid Secondhand Smoke

Secondhand smoke will trigger more COPD flare-ups and cause more damage to your lungs. So you need to take steps to avoid secondhand smoke.

• Make your home and car smoke-free zones. Tell others you are with to follow this rule. Take ashtrays out of your home.
• Choose smoke-free restaurants, bars, and workplaces (if possible).
• Avoid public places that allow smoking.

Setting these rules can:

• Reduce the amount of secondhand smoke you and your family breathe in
• Help you quit smoking and stay smoke-free

If there are smokers at your workplace, ask someone about policies regarding if and where smoking is allowed. Tips to help with secondhand smoke at work are:

• Make sure there are proper containers for smokers to throw away their cigarette butts and matches.
• Ask coworkers who smoke to keep their coats away from work areas.
• Use a fan and keep windows open, if possible.
• Use an alternative exit to avoid smokers outside the building.

BACK TO TOPText only