Smokers Are More Susceptible to Asbestosis Than

¶ … Smokers are More Susceptible to Asbestosis than Non- Smokers

It is common knowledge that cigarette smoking is bad for your health. There are a multitude of diseases and health issues which are either caused or exacerbated by cigarette smoking. These diseases and health issues include but are not limited to coronary heart disease, stroke, many cancers, bronchitis, emphysema, chronic airway obstruction, infertility, stillbirth, and asbestosis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Here the focus is on asbestosis and the relationship it has with smoking.

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, "Asbestosis is a serious, progressive, long-term disease of the lungs caused by high exposure or long duration of exposure to asbestos. Asbestosis is not a cancer. Cigarette smoking will make this asbestos-related illness worse. The disease typically develops 10 to 20 years after initial exposure, getting worse over time. It causes lung tissues to scar. Scarring of the lungs makes it hard to breathe and difficult for oxygen and carbon dioxide to pass through the lungs, and to clear out chemicals, such as the cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco smoke" (2006). Although it is known that the combination of smoking and exposure to asbestos exponentially increases one's chances of contracting asbestosis, it is not known exactly why there is such a relationship. Of course there must be many contributing factors, but it may be something simple.

Individuals who smoke and are exposed to asbestos, are inhaling deeply to enhance the effects of the nicotine in their systems. By doing so, they are pulling the asbestos fibers deep within their lungs each and every time they take a drag off a cigarette. By pulling these harmful fibers deep into their lungs, they are creating an even greater problem than simply normally breathing in the toxic fibers.

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, "Breathing asbestos fibers may damage the lungs or the linings of the chest wall. In some cases, this leads to asbestos-related illness and even death. You will breathe asbestos fibers into your lungs if they are in the air you breathe. Asbestos fibers may remain in the lungs for a lifetime. Cigarette smoking weakens the lungs and decreases their ability to remove asbestos fibers. Cigarette smoke also irritates air passages, causing them to produce more mucus. These effects block the passage of air and further decrease the removal of asbestos from the lungs."

It is clear that breathing in asbestos fibers alone may lead to asbestosis. It is clear that inhaling smoke from cigarettes will lead to health issues. It is not clear why the combination of smoking and breathing in asbestos leads to asbestosis much more often than simply breathing in asbestos fibers. The answer is really quite simple. Smokers inhale much deeper than non-smokers to get the effect of the nicotine. By inhaling deeper while being exposed to asbestos fibers, they are pulling them deep within their lungs.