Smoking with CF

Question

My boyfriend (26) suffers from CF and he smokes a lot and he doesn’t try very hard to live a healthy way of live; probably due to his view of live influenced by the illness.
Probably I could give the answer myself, but it is obvious that smoking etc. worsens the situation a lot, or not?

Answer

Hello,
You are right with your suspicion that smoking in general is damaging to the lung and the airways. A healthy lung can manage some “dirt from the outside”, if the amount is becoming too big – like for example with regular smoking – the “eating cells” (macrophages) in charge for cleaning and transportation can not cope with the situation, they overeat themselves, die and the dirt stays there for the next cells, which probably can not cope with it either, etc.
In case the eating and defending cells do not only have to deal with the dirt from the environment, but also with the inflammation associated with CF, the reserve for coping with the tar and condensate of the cigarettes is diminished. Your boyfriend knows probably like you, that the cleaning function in CF does work only partly, and then you can imagine the consequences yourself.
Will say: Yes, smoking is damaging and unfortunately it is still a fact, that in CF there will be a worsening of the lung function sometime. In that case it is advantageous not to have worsened the starting conditions (thoughtlessly) by smoking.
However, these rational arguments are achieving only sometimes the goal in smokers and young people (“O.k., then I will quit smoking) - why should this be different in CF patients.
Good luck.
Prof. Dr. TOF Wagner

12.12.2007