Smoking 10 cigarettes a day for 20 years, can lead to COPD

New Delhi/ Bhopal:  Smoking 10 cigarettes a day for 20 years, can lead to COPD (Chromic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). The disease usually reveals itself only after the age of 60. Even if a person quit smoking many years earlier, the damage might already have occurred symptoms surface gradually when immunity weakens with age.With the onset of winter, the hospitals in the northern states of India are witnessing a huge rush of patients with respiratory ailments, especially COPD which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, said Dr Naresh Purohit, Advisor for National Programme for Climate Change and Human Health (NPCCHH) .

Voicing his concern here at a workshop held at the Bhopal based Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre on the occasion of World COPD Day , noted Respiratory Health Expert Dr Purohit said that the growing prevalence of COPD in northern states – Punjab, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh , National Capital New Delhi including Madhya Pradesh is worrisome .

Renowned Epidemiologist Dr Purohit pointed that COPD is a serious lung condition, which is caused by long-term smoking or exposure to severe pollution caused by chulhas, vehicles and industries. It is nearly impossible to cure completely.

“Diabetes and hypertension are the things, which are not in our control. But COPD is a disease which is caused by of our own mistake. We cannot reverse once the damage is done. However, unlike those conditions, COPD can be entirely prevented if we simply avoid smoking. By staying away from cigarettes and reducing exposure to pollution, this disease can be largely prevented in older age,”  he averred.

“Your health is in your own hands, distance yourself from harmful habits, and such problems will not come near you. Therefore, if you want to prevent breathlessness and protect your lungs, quitting smoking is essential,” he urged.

Acclaimed medic stated that COPD can also develop in people exposed to smoke from traditional chulhas or those subjected to severe air pollution for prolonged periods. However, not all smokers develop COPD, only around 20 per cent show signs of the disease.

“People diagnosed with COPD must take pneumonia and influenza vaccines,” he added.

“COPD narrows the airways in the lungs, making breathing difficult. Asthma can be completely cured, but COPD cannot. It can be identified only through the Pulmonary Function Test. Hence, smokers, people exposed to stove smoke, or those frequently exposed to pollution should undergo this test. Protect your lungs before further damage occurs,” experts emphasised.

“Early detection of COPD can help reduce the extent of damage caused to the lungs. Typically, symptoms become noticeable only after 60 years of age, when people start experiencing shortness of breath. COPD, in a way, is the punishment one faces in their 60s for the mistakes made in their 20s, ” they averred.

“The only test that can accurately diagnose this condition is the Pulmonary Function Test (PFT),”  they said.

*Dr. Narresh Purohit-MD, DNB, DIH, MHA, MRCP(UK), is an Epidemiologist, and Advisor-National Communicable Disease Control Program of Govt. of India, Madhya Pradesh and several state Health organizations.    He’s  the Principle Investigator – Association of Studies In Behavioural Science),                 Dr. Purohit is also Advisor-National Mental Health Program .