[Smoking in COPD]

Abstract

Smoking is a recurrent, chronic addictive disease that causes multiple diseases and is the main known cause of avoidable morbidity and mortality, constituting a major public health problem. In developed countries, smoking is the main single cause of premature preventable morbidity and mortality. Tobacco combustion releases more than 4,000 toxic substances and more than 50 substances with demonstrated carcinogenic effects; smoking is a risk factor for six of the eight main causes of death worldwide. The treatment of smoking is both effective and cost-effective. Any therapeutic intervention performed by health professions for smoking will have beneficial results. If such interventions are adapted to the individual characteristics of each patient, their efficacy and efficiency will be much greater. All treatments are safe, with generally mild adverse effects that rarely lead to treatment withdrawal. Patients with COPD show higher nicotine dependence and seem to have greater difficulty in quitting smoking. Nevertheless, smoking cessation should be a priority in these patients, as it constitutes the only measure able to halt progression of the disease.