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Information for Smokers and Non-Smokers

What is Asthma? | Triggers: Know Your Troublemakers
Working With Your Doctor | Controlling Episodes
Help Your Medicines Help You | Kinds of Asthma Medicines
Live Better and Feel Better

Smokers | Non-Smokers

Information for Smokers

Toss your cigarettes away! Into the nearest basket. Smoking is an enemy - particularly if you have asthma. It can trigger frequent episodes. Smoke entering your lungs can trigger an asthma episode. Some smokers with asthma keep their lungs in a constant asthma state.

When you smoke:

Hot smoke dries the lining of your airways and makes them sore.

You breathe in poisonous gases. They paralyze your cilia, the tiny hairlike sweepers in your airways that help clean out dirt and mucus.

When your cilia can't work, smoke leaves behind more dirt, and it causes your lungs to make more mucus than usual. Then your airways get clogged.

Mucus in your lungs makes a perfect place for infections to grow.

In cigarette smoke, carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas, robs your blood of oxygen.

Irritation from smoke deep in your lungs can cause permanent damage to the tiny, fragile air sacs that deliver oxygen to your blood.

When you stop smoking:
The minute you stop smoking, your body goes to work to repair much of the damage to your airways.

After a period of coughing up excess mucus, your cough will lessen. That may happen in a couple of days, or it may take weeks.

With your airways more open, you will breathe easier.

Your lungs will put more oxygen into your blood, and you'll feel less tired than when you smoked.

Your lungs will be better able to defend themselves against infections.

Your blood circulation and your senses of taste and smell will improve.

You'll probably be able to do more work or exercise without shortness of breath.

You can look forward to a longer, healthier life.

You can be proud of yourself for winning a tough struggle.

Your example will help others make the decision not to smoke.

Does all that mean I have to give up smoking?
Yes! No one else can make that decision for you. After looking at the facts, you must decide for yourself not to smoke. There's no question that it's best for your health to stop smoking, but the choice is yours. Are you willing to give up cigarettes for healthier lungs?

I've been smoking for years. How can I quit?
Once you've made your decision, enlist support. Tell others, including your doctor, that you're quitting. Invite a friend to quit with you. Decide whether you'll quit cold turkey or use a plan that will help you prepare to quit.

Preparing to quit.
Some people find it surprisingly easy to quit suddenly. After a few days of missing cigarettes, they just don't want them anymore. For some, it's a struggle, but they stick to it, taking one day at a time, and it starts getting easier in a couple of weeks. Some people find it easier to prepare to stop smoking, following a plan that can make quitting easier. Call your local American Lung Association® at 1-800-LUNG-USA for a self-help program you can follow on your own. Or if you'd like to try a group approach ask your local American Lung Association® about Freedom from Smoking® clinics. Also ask your doctor about other ways to help stop smoking, including nicotine gum, and the nicotine patch.

Information for Nonsmokers

Secondhand smoke-from other people's cigarettes-is a real threat to nonsmokers. In an increasing number of areas, smoking in public is now forbidden by law. As a nonsmoker, you've made a choice for healthier lungs and a more vigorous, longer life. But, chances are, there are many times when you find yourself breathing secondhand smoke from other people's cigarettes.

Secondhand smoke irritates your sensitive lungs, and for many asthma sufferers, it is a powerful trigger of asthma episodes. Yet secondhand smoke seems to be everywhere. What can you do to avoid it? Consider these suggestions:

Think about your right to breathe clean air. No one has a right to impose a health hazard on you.

Discuss your need for clean air first with your family, closest friends, and immediate co-workers. You may be surprised at how cooperative they'll be when they understand how smoke affects your lungs.

If possible, declare your home off-limits for smoking. Your American Lung Association® has many programs and materials that can help. But if other members of your household insist on smoking, at least keep your bedroom smoke-free.

If smoke at work is a problem, request a smoke-free work area. Enlist the help of the company doctor, or your doctor if necessary. Call your local American Lung Association® at 1-800-LUNG-USA about its workplace smoking control programs and materials. Ask for a copy of the booklet, "On the Air: A Guide to Creating a Smoke-Free Workplace."

Call ahead to restaurants to ask if they have a smoke-free dining area. Also, many hotels now offer nonsmoking rooms. Urge those that don't yet provide smoke-free facilities to establish them.

Ask smokers to observe no-smoking signs in public areas such as elevators, meeting rooms, and public transportation. Ask your taxi driver not to smoke while you're a passenger.

If all else fails, remove yourself from smoking areas. Never endure secondhand smoke just to avoid offending others. Keep thinking about your right and your responsibility to protect your health.

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Information for Smokers and Non-Smokers

The mission of the American Lung Association^® is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.

Personal tools

Sections

Document Actions

Information for Smokers and Non-Smokers

The mission of the American Lung Association® is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.

Personal tools

The mission of the American Lung Association^® is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease.