What Smoking Does to Your Lungs

The CDC said cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States. Every year, it kills nearly a half a million people. “Smoking is an addiction just like any other drug,” said Lee Health Nurse Practitioner Bobbi Marino. The damage done by smoking or vaping is irreversible. “Your lungs weren’t meant to have anything filter through them, so anything that’s filtered through them, it’s similar to like an air conditioner vent, you can clean out an air conditioner, but it gets dust and dirt, so it works better, but your lungs you can’t.”

Smoking accounts for about 80% of the cause of lung cancer. “When they attract the tar, the nicotine, the moisture from the Vape, it’s damaging that tissue that is going to scar, and cancer or any other disease filters its way into an area that’s diseased,” said Marino.

Smokers are also more likely to develop things like heart disease and stroke. “It puts you at a higher risk for when you do get sick you’re going to have a longer time for healing, because your lungs are already compromised,” said Marino.

Lee Health in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of health care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For more than 100 years, we’ve been providing our community with personalized preventative health services and primary care to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries. Lee Health - Caring People. Inspiring Care.