Stop smoking to fight asthma

New research indicates some of the lung damage that asthma sufferers can receive from smoking can be reversed by quitting the habit.

The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, shows that stopping smoking can restore obstructed airways to their original health. Although many people with asthma smoke against their doctors recommendations, few will be aware of the nature of the damage that the habit can cause to their lungs, or of the benefits that quitting smoking could bring them.

Dr Martine Broekema, lead author of the study said that the researchers found that cigarette smoke can cause the lining of the airways in the lungs of asthma sufferers to thicken. She said that "This may be the underlying cause of the fact that smoking asthma patients experience more asthma symptoms, such as shortness of breath and phlegm production, compared to non-smoking asthma patients".

The study showed that there was little to no difference in the benefits that stopping smoking could bring asthma sufferers, even for heavier smokers. The length of time someone has been smoking, and the amount that they regularly smoked, made no difference to the benefits reported by the two groups of ex-smoker asthmatics involved in the study.

"To our suprise, these two sub-groups of ex-smokers showed no difference in any outcome measure" said Dr Broekema. "The good news is that quitting appears to have a measurable benefit in these individuals"