Can Smoking With Asthma Kill You?

Smoking with asthma can kill you. (Image via Pexels/ Masha Raymers)
Smoking with asthma can kill you. (Image via Pexels/ Masha Raymers)

Asthma is an abnormal respiratory illness that narrows the airways and is often referred to as a chronic respiratory disease. Shortness of breath, coughing, dyspnea, chest tightness, and wheezing are typical symptoms of this condition.

Asthmatic patients are extremely susceptible to any external agent, and the attack can be brought on by stress, certain activities, mild allergies, and of course, smoking. Smoking cigarettes can undoubtedly lead to severe asthma attacks or even death.

The majority of scientists would agree that anyone exposed to smoke has negative health effects. However, those with respiratory conditions like asthma may be particularly hurt by it.


What Happens If You Smoke With Asthma?

Smoking, which is the greatest cause of mortality in the world, is one of the most popular habits among both men and women.

Smoking significantly increases the chances of acquiring asthma or making pre-existing symptoms worse. According to a CDC study, smokers are more likely than non-smokers to have asthmatic episodes.

Smoking can trigger short term illness. (Image via Pexels/ Lil Artsy)
Smoking can trigger short term illness. (Image via Pexels/ Lil Artsy)

Here’s how smoking with asthma can kill you:

1) Triggers asthmatic episodes and other short-term illness

For those with asthma, smoke is a common trigger. The additional chemicals and poisons included in cigarettes make cigarette smoke in particular a serious health concern.

Infections like pneumonia and bronchitis can develop if you smoke continuously, because the lungs can't heal after being exposed to irritants all the time.


2) Smoking prevents your lungs from healing

Unfortunately, having asthma frequently results in lung issues. No recovery or improvement in the lungs occurs as a result of smoking. Instead, it has the opposite effect by forcing the lungs to work harder to eliminate more irritants from the body.


3) Can cause long-term illness

It is well established that smoking chemicals and carcinogens can have an impact on a person's long-term health. Lung cancer, emphysema, and COPD are all potential side effects of smoking.

Smoking can also cause lung cancer. (Image via Pexels/ Petar Starčević)
Smoking can also cause lung cancer. (Image via Pexels/ Petar Starčević)

Can Smoking With Asthma Kill You?

Tar, carbon monoxide, and nicotine are just a few of the most dangerous components found in cigarette smoke. These drugs have the potential to aggravate airway inflammation and make it challenging to breathe, especially for asthmatic patients.

Furthermore, smoking can harm cilia, which are hair-like structures that border the airways and aid in the movement of mucus from the lungs. When the cilia is destroyed, the mucus accumulates in the lungs and makes it difficult for the patient to breathe.

Hence, the answer to the question of whether smoking while having asthma can be fatal is quite clear. Smoking cigarettes can certainly cause serious asthma attacks in these people, which can even be fatal.

Smoking kills and aggravates asthmatic episodes. (Image via Pexels/ JÉSHOOTS)
Smoking kills and aggravates asthmatic episodes. (Image via Pexels/ JÉSHOOTS)

Many studies have been published that demonstrate a direct correlation between smoking and higher rates of morbidity and mortality in people with asthma. If it doesn't kill you, it might nevertheless have an impact on your daily life and lower your quality of life.


Anybody who smokes can suffer unfavorable effects, but people with asthma in particular are more affected. Smokers are more likely to experience asthma episodes due to the irritation and harm that smoking causes to the lungs and airways. Smoke from cigarettes destroys the cilia in the lungs, causing the airways to expand and fill with sticky mucus that is challenging to remove.

Of course, it is challenging to influence people's smoking habits, but trying would never be in vain. To educate your friends and family about the negative effects of smoking and ways to quit smoking, you might host educational workshops or plan wholesome dialogs.

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