Smoking cessation benefits the lungs within weeks
New research suggests that giving up cigarettes can improve lung function within two weeks, a finding that may motivate people to purchase smoking cessation products, which are among the most popular over the counter medications.
New research suggests that giving up cigarettes can improve lung function within two weeks, a finding that may motivate people to purchase smoking cessation products, which are among the most popular over the counter medications.
In order to evaluate the effects of smoking cessation on young adults, a team of scientists from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center conducted a review of two previous experiments that included 327 subjects aged between 18 and 24 years. About 60 percent of them smoked between five and 10 cigarettes a day, and 56 percent smoked from one to five years.
While one group was able to stop smoking for at least two weeks, they other continued to use tobacco. Results showed that within the former group, study participants had fewer respiratory problems, such as coughing, as published in the journal Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonology.
"That the benefit of stopping smoking starts in days to weeks - not years or decades - is important. Now health care providers can counsel young smokers that their breathing can feel better soon after they stop. This can help to motivate young adults to stop smoking before the severe damage is done," said journal editor Harold Farber, MD, MSPH.
People who smoke are about 13 times more likely to die from chronic obstructive lung diseases, such as bronchitis and emphysema, than individuals who don't, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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