Anadolu Medical Center Chest Diseases Specialist Assoc. Dr. Tayfun Çalışkan, “The most common known cause of lung cancer is smoking.” said. Reminding that lung cancer is the most well-known disease related to smoking, Anadolu Health Center Chest Diseases Specialist Assoc. Dr. Tayfun Çalışkan said, “Apart from this, smoking during pregnancy and exposure to cigarettes in early childhood impair the lung development of children and increase the risk of developing asthma. “Smokers with asthma have a higher risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than non-smokers.”
Underlining that COPD is the most common smoking-related disease with cough, sputum production and shortness of breath, Assoc. Dr. Tayfun Çalışkan said, “The most effective method in reducing the progression of COPD and related deaths is to quit smoking. Smoking can also cause a number of diseases that disrupt the normal functioning of the lung by disrupting the spongy structure of the lung. Among them, those that are strongly associated with smoking are respiratory bronchiolitis, desquamative interstitial pneumonia and Langerhans cell histiocytosis.
Smoking duration affects lung cancer risk
Emphasizing that the duration and intensity of smoking also affect the risk of lung cancer, Chest Diseases Specialist Assoc. Dr. Tayfun Caliskan, “People who smoke 1-5 cigarettes a day have a 9 times higher risk of developing lung cancer than those who never smoke. The risk of developing lung cancer in people who smoke 1-5 cigarettes a day and who quit smoking under the age of 40 are similar to those who never smoked. However, even if people who smoke 6-15 times a day quit smoking under the age of 40, the risk of developing lung cancer is 1.8 times higher than those who never smoked. "The risk of lung cancer is 1 times higher in people who smoke 5-40 cigarettes a day and quit when they are over 3 years old," he said.
Passive smoking is also a cause of illness
Emphasizing that passive smoking is secondary exposure, direct exposure to cigarette smoke smoked by someone else, Assoc. Dr. Tayfun Çalışkan said, “Tertiary exposure occurs due to the accumulation and exposure of chemicals such as nicotine, formaldehyde and naphthalene on soft surfaces such as clothes, furniture, beds and curtains, due to indoor smoking. In addition to lung cancers, coronary artery disease, stroke can also affect pregnant women and cause low birth weight. Smoking can also cause sudden infant death syndrome, lung infections, ear infections and asthma attacks in infants and children.
Smoking cessation clinics support smoking cessation
Underlining that psychosocial support is provided to people who use tobacco products and want to quit in smoking cessation outpatient clinics, and drug treatments and nicotine replacement treatments are applied to those who are deemed necessary, Assoc. Dr. Tayfun Çalışkan said, “Smoking cessation success is defined as not smoking for 1 year. While the success rate in the self-cessation strategy is 8-25 percent, the success rate in people who applied to the smoking cessation outpatient clinic was found to be between 20-40 percent. Therefore, it is very important to get support for quitting smoking.