Smoking Directly Correlates to COPD

Smoking Causes COPD

When it comes to smoking, most people know that there are some very serious health risks involved; however, one of the most overlooked health risks associated with smoking is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. While most health professionals and the media concentrate on the possibility of developing lung cancer from smoking, COPD is actually projected to become the fourth leading cause of death worldwide by the year 2030, as reported in a medical journal from the Public Library of Science.

COPD actually encompasses two different diseases; chronic bronchitis and emphysema. These two conditions work on the lungs to limit air flow by causing inflammation, as well as causing destruction of lung tissue. Most people that are diagnosed with COPD will require long term, managed care, and may need to be placed on oxygen. In addition, some with COPD may even require a lung transplant, as the condition often only worsens with time.

Although there are a number of causes for COPD, the main cause is smoking, accounting for 80% to 90% of all cases worldwide. With each cigarette smoked, carcinogens and toxins enter the lungs, causing pockets to develop over time. Those pockets then begin to fill up with tar, choking off the lungs' ability to breathe efficiently. Ultimately, COPD leads to death in smokers by essentially removing their air supply. Because the lungs become so inflamed, and because the tissue becomes so damaged, a smoker with COPD will eventually reach a point where they simply cannot breathe, leading to organ failure.

One of the most important things a smoker with COPD can do is to quit smoking; however, many smokers that have the condition have been smoking for so long, they may feel like they are unable to do so. For smokers that feel that they cannot stop smoking on their own, medical professionals may recommend stop smoking aids. These aids typically work by delivering nicotine to a smoker through various methods that do not involve smoking. Unfortunately, these aids are often expensive, and they don't help a smoker to actually quit; they are simply replacing the nicotine source.

The good news is, for smokers that want to quit without nicotine replacement medicines, there are natural alternatives. Natural stop smoking aids use supplements found in nature to alleviate cravings, as well as eliminate harmful toxins within the body. Many natural stop smoking aids are much more affordable than prescription medications, and they work with your body's natural chemistry to not only help you to quit, but to keep you smoke free for life.