Rates of serious lung conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are trickling upward — despite the fact that fewer people are smoking. To be exact, the rate of adults who smoke cigarettes has declined from about 21 percent in 2005, to 14 percent in 2017, to 11.5% in 2021 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Unfortunately, Americans are still dealing with the consequences of the previously high rates of smoking. Since many people in the late 20th century smoked cigarettes, and COPD takes decades to develop, we're just now seeing COPD symptoms in those long-term smokers.
Dr. Oks is a pulmonologist at Lenox Hill Hospital and Northwell Health. She is triple board-certified in Internal Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, and Pulmonary Disease.
References
Alpha-1 Foundation. (n.d.) Lung disease.
American Lung Association. (2023). What is particle pollution?
American Lung Association. (2023). Populations at risk.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Current cigarette smoking among adults in the United States.
COPD Foundation. (2023). What causes COPD?
Hayden L.P., et al. (2015). Childhood pneumonia increases risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: The COPDGene study. Respiratory Research.
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