Bronchitis is an infection in your bronchi, the tubes that connect the trachea (windpipe) to the lungs. It is characterized by a soreness deep in the chest that may become acutely painful when you breathe. Bronchitis, if left untreated, can progress to more serious infections, including pneumonia.

COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease) is a term that can be used for two closely related respiratory diseases that obstruct air flow, namely chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Most people with COPD have been heavy cigarette smokers.

Smoking is known to lead to an increased risk of multiple diseases including COPD, cancer, cardiovascular disease and others. Cigarette smoke is known to contain very dangerous free radicals including superoxide and other reactive oxygen species. The adverse effects of smoking result from oxidative damage to endothelial cells (the cells lining the inside of blood vessels) which lead to a shortage of nitric oxide (NO).

In an article published in the journal "Circulation", researchers conducted a randomized cross-over study documenting the effects of smoking a single cigarette. Twenty smokers participated in this study. Individuals were first given a sham cigarette to smoke and, not unexpectedly, this produced no significant changes in any of the assayed parameters. However, when they were then given a single real cigarette to smoke, the concentrations of ascorbic acid and other antioxidants were significantly lowered along with a significant decrease in nitrate and nitrite plasma concentrations. What is the take home message? Cigarette smoking and second hand smoke are extremely dangerous and should be eliminated or markedly curtailed if in any way possible.

More people in the U.S. die from emphysema than from any other respiratory disease. Despite its prevalence, this disease is almost exclusive to smokers. Emphysema is caused by damage to the alveoli, the tiny, thin-walled air sacs clustered at the ends of the airways deep within the lungs. The alveoli are responsible for delivering oxygen into the bloodstream and carrying out carbon dioxide. With chronic smoking, the alveoli become enlarged and the small blood vessels that supply these air sacs die off, resulting in inflammation, hardening of the lung tissue, and difficulty breathing. Over time, this labored breathing puts pressure on the lungs that eventually stretches the alveoli beyond their limits, sometimes rupturing them resulting in pnemothorax. As emphysema progresses, patients are often unable to carry out even the simplest forms of exercise without gasping for breath.

To date, no cure has been found for emphysema, and no treatment can reverse damage already caused.

However, if you have emphysema, you can slow its progression and significantly lower your risk of death by following the guidelines described below.

The single most important thing is to stop smoking immediately. It's never too late to benefit from quitting. Simply by quitting smoking, you'll experience immediate and long-term health benefits:

• Within eight hours the oxygen levels in your blood will return to normal.
• By the end of day two, you'll notice an improvement in your senses of taste and smell.
• In three months you'll breathe more easily, and your circulation will improve.
• Within nine months, smoking-related coughing, congestion and shortness of breath will be history, and you'll have more energy.
• After one year, your risk of heart disease will be cut by 50%, as will your risk of lung cancer after five years.

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