A new study from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and University College London has found that even after long-term heavy smoking, healthy new lung cells can grow once a smoker quits, replenishing the lining of their airways and dramatically cutting the risk of cancer.
Awakening dormant cells
The study has found that dormant cells within the lining of the airway that were not damaged by smoking can awaken once a smoker quits and multiply to replace the damaged cells. This process means that ex-smokers, no matter how long they had been smokers, were found to have more ‘genetically healthy’ lung cells than current smokers.
A representative from Cancer Research UK states;
‘The study shows that quitting smoking could do so much more than just stopping further damage to the lungs. Researchers believe it could also help new, healthy cells to actively replenish the lining of our airways. This shift could help prevent against cancer.’
The damage to deeper layers of lung tissue are unfortunately thought to be irreversible, as smoking can damage the DNA in the cells, creating genetic mutation that can uncontrollably divide, causing cancerous cells to form. But the chance of these cancerous cells developing decreases over time, with previous research finding that former smokers had a 43% lower risk of lung cancer than smokers after 7 years, and 72% lower risk after 12 years.
It is never too late to quit!
The study, which has been published in the research journal ‘Nature’ offers the fantastic news that it is never too late to quit. Dr Peter Campbell from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the senior author on the study said;
‘People who have smoked heavily for 30, 40 or more years often say to me that it’s too late to stop smoking – the damage is already done. What is so exciting about our study is that it shows that it’s never too late to quit – some of the people in our study had smoked more than 15,000 packs of cigarettes over their life, but within a few years of quitting many of the cells lining the airways showed no evidence of damage from tobacco.’
Considering making a change?
Speaking about the new study, owner of Evapo, Andrej Kuttruff said;
‘This is not only fantastic news for those who have already made the decision to quit smoking, but also for those who have been considering giving up smoking but had concerns that the damage had already been done.
There are a number of smoking alternatives, such as e-cigarettes or nicotine pouches, that can be used to assist with a stop smoking attempt and could help countless people on their way to becoming an ex-smoker. Making the decision to make a change is the first step, and within a few years you will be at much lower risk of smoking related illness and your lungs will be actively repairing the damage from smoking.
It is never too late to quit and the new options for smoking cessation make the decision that bit easier.’
If you are considering quitting smoking, and would like to learn about what smoking cessation tools are available to you, speak with your local stop smoking services or pop in to an Evapo store and speak to a member of our team.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jan/30/lungs-damaged-by-smoking-can-magically-heal-study
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51279355
