Can the lungs recover after quitting smoking? This answer is more pertinent, let's take a look

According to relevant research data surveys, among middle-aged and elderly people over 40 years old in China, the prevalence of COPD has reached about 14%, and the total number of patients has exceeded 40 million.

　　Not only that, China is also the country with the largest number of lung cancer patients in the world, with about 800,000 newly diagnosed lung cancer patients and about 700,000 deaths due to lung cancer every year!

　　Many people believe that the high incidence of chronic lung diseases in China is related to factors such as industrial development and air pollution in recent years . But the fact is not so simple. The most fundamental reason behind the high incidence of chronic lung diseases in China is the huge number of smokers. Relevant data surveys show that more than 60% of men over the age of 15 in China have a history of smoking for many years.

　　China is the world's largest tobacco consumer and producer. The total number of smokers in China accounts for about 1/3 of the total number of smokers in the world . Nearly 5 million people worldwide die from smoking-related diseases every year , of which 1.2 million are Chinese. Even the WHO once predicted that 100 million young people in China will die prematurely due to smoking in the future.

　　You know, cigarettes contain thousands of compounds, nearly 70 of which are related to cancer . After these harmful substances enter the respiratory tract, they will not only attach to the lung tissue, but also destroy the cilia of the airway epithelium, resulting in impaired self-cleaning function of the respiratory tract, reduced lung tissue resistance, and induction of respiratory tract inflammation . Chronic lung disease.

　　So the question is, after I realize that smoking hurts my lungs, if I quit smoking in time, can my lung function recover as before?

　　The first thing that is certain is that after quitting smoking, whether or not the lung function can return to the previous level, the lung function will definitely gradually improve.

　　Because the human respiratory tract has a certain ability to repair and adjust itself, usually about 72 hours after quitting smoking, the lungs have already begun to adjust.

In about two weeks to three months, the cilia will re-grow, the blood circulation will become better and better, and the ex-smoker will obviously find that the breathing becomes smoother, and the residual toxic substances in the respiratory tract are also excreted with the expectoration. .

　As long as it doesn't damage the lungs later, it has plenty of time to slowly adjust and repair . However, if you want your lung function to fully return to normal, it depends on your specific smoking time and amount of smoking.

If the smoking time is relatively short and the amount of smoking is not large, the lung function is not seriously damaged at this time . After quitting smoking , the lungs can basically recover through self-repair.

　　However, if the number of cigarettes smoked every day is relatively large and the smoking time is relatively long, for example, if the smoking age reaches more than ten years or decades, the natural damage to the lungs will be more serious, especially the ciliary motor function is seriously damaged. , The bronchial wall is also damaged, this damage is almost irreversible, and it is almost impossible to fully recover after quitting smoking.

　　However, as long as everyone is determined to start smoking cessation, the lungs can slowly adjust and recover 3-9 months after quitting smoking. After quitting smoking for more than a year, the lung function will become stronger and stronger.

　　After quitting smoking for more than 5 years , the risk of stroke is substantially reduced . People who quit smoking for more than 10 years are also much less likely to develop lung cancer than smokers.

　　Therefore, when you realize the harm caused by cigarettes, the question to consider is not whether the lungs can recover after quitting smoking, but what can you do to quit smoking completely. The sooner you quit smoking, the less damage it will do to your lungs.

　　At the same time, the risk of developing high blood pressure and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases will be greatly reduced in the future. So, from now on, it is necessary to throw away your cigarettes.