What Is the Connection Between Smoking and Emphysema?
Most doctors consider smoking to be the primary cause of emphysema. The disorder can potentially be caused by many other lung irritants, but smoking and emphysema tend to go hand-in-hand in most cases. A person’s lungs are full of tiny air sacs called alveoli, and these are damaged by the presence of irritants like tobacco smoke. When the irritation causes the alveoli to become enlarged and inefficient, doctors call the condition emphysema.
