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Asthma Chest & Allergy Centre

A centre of excellence providing treatment of Asthma, Allergies and Chest Diseases since 1992

Cigarette Smoke & Asthma

Everyone knows that smoking is bad for the lungs. This is no Rocket Science. Asthmatics already have over-sensitive airways and thus irritants and toxins in cigarette smoke are doubly harmful to them. Yet, the percentage of asthmatics who smoke is nearly the same as the percentage of smokers in the general population in a given society or country.

Asthmatics who smoke are doing a great disservice to their lungs. It could be compared to putting salt over burnt skin. If your skin gets burnt it may not be your fault. But if you insist on putting salt over it and this makes your burns worse it certainly is your fault.

Research has shown that asthmatics who smoke:

  • Have more symptoms
  • Have poorer lung functions
  • Have a faster deterioration of lung functions with age
  • Are less responsive to medication
  • Require more steroid dose for control than asthmatics who don’t smoke.

What has been written above also applies to children with asthma who get second hand smoke from their smoker parents. If parents really cares for his/her child’s asthma, then they should quit smoking or at least never smoke in the vicinity of the child.

Does smoking cause asthma? No it does not. But it surely makes it worse and difficult to manage.

Children born to mothers who smoke when pregnant have poorer lung functions and are more prone to develop asthma and other allergic diseases later in life. The expectant mother should not inhale any cigarette smoke.

So the bottom line is that if you or any family member has asthma, you should quit smoking. No ifs or butts about it!