Does smoking cause emphysema?

Blakes

I know it sounds like a silly question, as you can read everywhere that smoking damages your lung and cause emphysema and lung cancer, but I know a family with 4 brothers,2 of them not smoking and by the age of 50 both of them had emphysema, and another brothers that doesn't stop smoking but is completely healthy. How can than happen?

Asked 6 months ago Status: Open

Tagged as: smoking, emphysema, risk factors

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Answers (2) to: "Does smoking cause emphysema?"

Radcliffe

When doctors say that smoking cause emphysema, they doesn't say that you must smoke to get emphysema and that everyone that smokes will eventually develop the disease. You can smoke and never have emphysema, and you can never smoke and have emphysema. The numbers (i.e. the risk) is what makes all the difference...
Answered 6 months ago | Report abuse
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Proffitt

Most of the emphysema patients are smokers, but only a minority of the smokers eventually develop emphysema.
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