Bangalore: November 16, 2007 - Smokers beware! You may be aware that smoking leads to lung cancer and heart disease. But do you know it also leads to serious respiratory condition in which the airways get blocked?

In India more than 13 million victims of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), where the patients’ airways are blocked.

Addressing presspersons on the occasion of World COPD Day, B.V. Muralimohan, consultant pulmonologist of Narayana Hrudayalaya, said smoking was one of the main causes for developing COPD.

Pollution was said to be another major cause, he pointed out.

A study conducted by the Chest Research Foundation, involving more than 12,000 slum-dwellers in Pune, revealed that over 50 per cent non-smokers had COPD.

This underlined the role of indoor and outdoor pollution in causing and aggravating the condition.

The use of fuels such as kerosene, wood and biomass in badly ventilated kitchens and homes was identified as a major factor.

“If a person has persistent cough for more than three weeks, or three months in a year, he must go in for a check-up, for that is one of the symptoms of COPD. Tests, such as spirometry, are important to assess the health of lungs and diagnose the disease early,” Dr. Muralimohan said.

He said that more and more youth were cultivating the habit of smoking.

“The Government is spending nearly Rs. 27,000 crore a year for the cure of smoking-related ailments, while the revenue from the sale of tobacco is only Rs. 25,000 crore. It is the responsibility of the Government, the educated society and health organisations to combine their efforts and reduce the incidence of COPD,” he said.