Black Lung Disease vs. Smoking

 

Is black lung caused by industrial hazards, or is it a side effect from a person’s smoking habit?

 

Jeff Diver

· from Quora 24 August 2020

retired reference assistant at Cornell University Library

Shanea,

Black lung disease is specific to the coal mining industry. It is not a side effect of smoking, although if you’ve ever seen images of a smoker’s lungs, you might not appreciate the difference.[1] Coal dust very effectively shuts lung function down. Smoking does too, but it may take awhile longer.

Image of Black Lung from[2]

Image of smoker’s lungs compared to healthy lungs from[3]

Awful stuff. Should make smokers cautious and coal miners look for a different profession if they aren’t already unemployed.

-Jeff

Footnotes

[1] What Is Black Lung Disease?

[2] Black Lung Disease 

[3] Nurse shares grim video showing what smoking is REALLY doing to your lungs

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Answer requested by

Shanea Huske