Why do I cough and feel breathless after years of smoking?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am 41 and trying once again to quit smoking after nearly two decades of cigarette use. What is making this attempt harder is that my younger son recently asked why I cough every morning, and honestly, I did not know what to say to him.

I started searching terms like long-term smoking damage and best ways to quit smoking permanently, and now the health risks feel much more real than before.

Over the last month, I have had shortness of breath while climbing stairs and sometimes tightness in my chest after smoking heavily during stressful days. I switched partly to vaping, thinking it would help, but now I seem dependent on both.

My mood becomes terrible whenever I try to stop completely, which is why previous attempts failed after only a few weeks. I do not want my children growing up thinking smoking is normal just because I could not quit.

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

The thing is, after years of smoking, the mucociliary apparatus, the one that clears the airways, gets damaged, and the mucus gets collected. It irritates the airways and causes a cough.

Not only the mucus, but the irritants and the tar as well keep getting collected in the airways.

Smoking over the years must have damaged your lungs, causing a lot of inflammation and reduced lung function.

But if you still quit smoking, some of it can be reversed, and over time, the risk of getting dangerous diseases will go down after quitting.

Vaping is something to fool oneself, as it also causes lung injury and becomes another source of nicotine dependence. Nicotine affects brain chemicals; therefore, whenever you try to quit, withdrawal symptoms start.

The best way to quit smoking is a holistic approach. First is having strong willpower, mind distraction techniques, nicotine gums, or medicines like Varenicline, support groups, and removing smoking triggers like friends who smoke from your life.

Your symptoms that you have been having need proper evaluation, including X-ray, electrocardiogram (ECG), and spirometry. I would suggest you meet a pulmonologist in person.

Regarding your children, they copy their parents. If you quit now, they can understand it is a bad thing, and that is why you quit.

I hope you are satisfied with my answer. For further queries, you can consult me at iCliniq.

Thank you.