Washington, November 10 (ANI): Tobacco smoke can prove extremely harmful for patients with asthma, arthritis and nasal obstruction, according to an international health expert.
 
Smoking has always been associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
 
Now, Carlos Baena-Cagnani, M.D., faculty of medicine, at Catholic University of Cordoba in Argentina has emphasized on the ill effects of smoking and its effect on asthma patients at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Miami Beach, Fla.
 
He said:  "Recent studies have shown that smoking can be linked with other respiratory diseases such as asthma exacerbations and rhinitis.
 
"Both active and passive smoking has been shown to be involved in uncontrolled asthma and associated with asthma exacerbations in children and adolescents."
 
He explained that smoking causes changes in inflammation in asthma patients and diminishes their response to anti-asthma drugs.
 
He elaborated: "The message is that smoking is a risk factor for the inception of asthma in allergic arthinitis patients, and it should be discouraged in patients with rhinitis.
 
"There is increasing and compelling evidence that respiratory diseases, such as asthma and COPD, are also related to a deregulation of the immune system, especially the innate (natural) immunity.
 
"The impact of tobacco smoking is huge, with over one billion people exposed to unhealthy air in which tobacco smoking plays a major role."