A 42-year-old male client has a history of smoking for 20 years. The client states he is feeling fine and asks why stopping smoking is necessary. What information might the nurse share with the client about smoking?

Question

A) Smoking decreases the size of the tubes leading to the lungs.
B) The chest becomes more elastic with increased time of smoking.
C) Carbon dioxide levels may decrease in the lungs.
D) Smoking causes the respiratory system to increase oxygen delivery to the lungs.

Answer 1

A
Feedback:
Smoking can decrease the efficiency of the respiratory system. Nicotine causes a decrease in bronchial diameter, constriction of blood vessels, a decrease in ciliary function (which assists in moving foreign particles out of the respiratory tract), and can destroy lung tissue over time. These factors can all result in a decrease in gas exchange. In addition, many tobacco products contain substances (e.g., tars) that can build up in the lungs. The chest does not become more elastic with increased time of smoking; instead, it loses elasticity and becomes stiffer. Thus, the lungs cannot expand, and the change in the ratio of pressure of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the lungs is the effect of aging on the respiratory system.