How many packs andyears of smoking does it take to cause permanent damage to the lungs?

Answer 1

Severity of lung disease has a direct relationship to the amount of cigarettes you smoke and the number of years you smoked them. Measured in pack-years (# of packs/day) X (# of years). Lung disease varies between individuals but is consistent for the most part.

FEV1 is usually used to measure severity of lung obstruction from cigarette smoking. Here's the Wikipedia definition of FEV1:

"This is the amount of air that you can forcibly blow out in one second, measured in liters. Along with FVC it is considered one of the primary indicators of lung function."


There have been numerous studies on it... and most show an parabolic drop in lung function with age for Smokers. Non-smokers usually have a more linear drop in lung function with age.

This page has a good graphical representation:
http://www.priory.com/cmol/causesof.htm


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So don't spend too much time calculating pack-years. Just think of a way to quit ASAP.

Answer 2

It really depends on how much you smoke per day - half a pack, a whole pack or more, etc. Of course, it doesn't matter how much you smoke per day, every time you light up and smoke, it's doing that much more damage to your lungs. I'm a smoker, but I want to quit - just a matter of the best way to go about doing that. I was told the lozenges work very well. I can't use the patch because my skin is susceptible to allergies 'cause it's sensitive. Anyway, as I said, no matter how much or how little you smoke, you're doing damage to your lungs nonetheless. We need to quit - too expensive and risking your health isn't worth the expense.

Answer 3

Every cig you smoke leaves a deposit in your lungs. Every one does permanent damage

Answer 4

read allen carr's easy way to stop smoking, its that simple 1 book, smoking , gone!