People who started smoking under the age of 18 are more likely to experience respiratory symptoms, such as wheezing and phlegm, in their 20s.
This is according to new research that was presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Vienna, Austria.
The study also found that the majority of young smokers had taken up the habit before they turned 18. The more cigarettes they smoked overall, the higher the risk of respiratory symptoms.
Researchers recruited almost 3,500 eight-year-old children in northern Sweden and asked them to fill in questionnaires annually until they turned 19 and again when they reached the age of 28.
Overall, 22% said they were daily smokers at some point during the study. Of those who said they smoked, 29% started smoking when they were aged 15 or under. Comparatively, 35% started smoking when they were 16 or 17, and 35% started at 18 or older.
‘It could be that exposure to tobacco smoke at a young age increases the risk of respiratory symptoms because the lungs are still developing and more vulnerable to damage’
Dr Linnea Hedman, associate professor of epidemiology and public health at Umeå University, Sweden
The researchers found that smoking more cigarettes overall increased the risk of respiratory symptoms by the age of 28, with one ‘packyear’ – the equivalent of smoking one pack of 20 cigarettes per day for one year – increasing the risk by around 10% compared to non-smokers.
The team also took into account other factors that can affect lung health, including family history of asthma or growing up in a home where others smoke.
Respiratory symptoms
Presented by Dr Linnea Hedman, associate professor of epidemiology and public health at Umeå University, Sweden, she said: ‘In our study we found that smokers are very likely to have taken up the habit before they turned 18 and those who did start early were more likely to be suffering with breathing problems, especially wheezing and phlegm.
‘These symptoms were also more common the more cigarettes people smoked.
‘One explanation for our findings could be that children and teenagers who started smoking earlier continue to smoke for a longer time and therefore suffer with more symptoms. It could be that exposure to tobacco smoke at a young age increases the risk of respiratory symptoms because the lungs are still developing and more vulnerable to damage.’
Dr Hedman added: ‘This study shows that it does not necessarily take decades to develop respiratory symptoms from smoking; we can already see a significant association in young adulthood.’
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