Tobacco smoking fuels deadly lung disease as COPD cases rise
COPD, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, damages the airways and air sacs of the lungs, making breathing increasingly difficult.
Tobacco use remains one of the leading preventable causes of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a progressive and incurable lung condition that claimed about 3.5 million lives globally in 2021, accounting for five per cent of all deaths.
COPD, which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, damages the airways and air sacs of the lungs, making breathing increasingly difficult.
Although often associated with older people, health experts say the damage can begin decades before symptoms become apparent.
Smoking remains the dominant cause, accounting for more than 70 per cent of COPD cases in high-income countries and about 30 to 40 per cent in low- and middle-income countries.
In poorer regions, exposure to smoke from firewood, charcoal and kerosene, air pollution and occupational hazards also contribute significantly.
Long-term exposure triggers persistent inflammation, narrowing the airways, increasing mucus production and destroying lung tissue.
Common symptoms include a persistent cough, sputum production, wheezing, recurrent chest infections and progressively worsening breathlessness.
Health experts say tuberculosis survivors may also develop COPD despite successful treatment, while quarry workers, miners and others exposed to organic and inorganic pollutants face increased risks.
A recent review covering Ethiopia, Sudan, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania found COPD affects between seven and 19 per cent of East Africans, with prevalence estimated at 11.3 per cent in Kenya.
“Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is an incurable condition resulting from irreversible damage of the airways and the air sacs of the lungs,” health experts say, warning that continued exposure to tobacco smoke and other pollutants accelerates the damage.
Definitive diagnosis requires spirometry, a test that measures airflow during forceful breathing.
With COPD expected to remain among the world’s leading causes of death, experts say prevention must begin with eliminating exposure to tobacco smoke and other harmful air pollutants.
