asthma

the bottom line

In people who have asthma, smoking or exposure to other people's cigarette smoke can increase asthma symptoms.

just the facts

• About 6 out of every 100 adults and 2 out of every 10 children have this problem.
• the asthma death rate among current and former smokers was more than double the death rate among nonsmokers. (1)

Sources
1. Doll R, Peto R, Wheatley K, Gray R, Sutherland I. Papers: mortality in relation to smoking: 40 years' observations on male British doctors. British Medical Journal 1994;309:901-911.

definition

You probably know some people who have asthma. About 6 out of every 100 adults and 2 out of every 10 children have this problem. In asthma, the tubes that lead to the lungs overreact to various triggers (for example pollen, mold, colds, and irritants such as cigarette smoke and pollution), causing attacks of wheezing, coughing, and difficulty in breathing.

explanation

In people who have asthma, smoking or exposure to other people's cigarette smoke can increase asthma symptoms, leading to a greater number of emergency room visits. Smokers have more severe asthma attacks and more bothersome asthma symptoms than nonsmokers do.

People can even die from severe asthma. This is much more likely to occur in smokers than in nonsmokers. In one study, researchers found that the asthma death rate among current and former smokers was more than double the death rate among nonsmokers. (1)