Will Chronic Bronchitis Go Away If I Quit Smoking?

Chronic bronchitis is commonly known as the “smokers cough” due to its common occurrence in those with a long history of smoking. If you’ve been struggling with chronic bronchitis and have been considering quitting smoking, you may wonder if this will reverse the condition.

Chronic bronchitis is an incurable lifelong condition, so smoking cessation will not cure the condition. However, this is still a very treatable condition and quitting smoking is the most important method of controlling your symptoms as well as playing a major role long-term in overall lung health. To learn more about the benefits of smoking cessation in chronic bronchitis, read on.

Understanding chronic bronchitis

Bronchitis refers to conditions where the airways in the lungs (the bronchial tubes) become inflamed, usually in response to an irritant. The irritation causes mucus overproduction by mucus-secreting glands, resulting in a productive cough.¹ In Chronic Bronchitis, long-term damage has occurred (scarring), so the combination of inflammation and scarring causes damage to the mucociliary escalator, the process whereby millions of tiny hair-like projections called cilia act in concert to move mucus and debris out of the lungs via the airway. ¹ If this is impaired this causes your lung's ability to remove excess mucus and irritants less efficiently, leading to a chronic cough. Over time this can cause the narrowing of the airways making it more difficult to breathe. The combination of chronic bronchitis with airway narrowing leads to a condition called Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and it is estimated 74% of patients with COPD have chronic bronchitis.²

Common causes

The most common cause of chronic bronchitis is tobacco smoking, and patients typically have a long history of smoking. This differs from acute bronchitis where viral infections such as the common cold (Rhinoviruses) and influenza are typically the cause.³ However, tobacco smoking is not the only cause and chronic bronchitis can occur due to:

• Occupational Exposure – Farming, mining, and textile manufacturing have been linked with an increased risk of developing chronic bronchitis. It is thought that this is due to long-term exposure to lung irritants such as allergens and dust²
• Air Pollution – Poor air quality has been linked with an increased risk of bronchitis symptoms for a very long time⁴
• Reflux – Gastric reflux has been associated with the development of chronic bronchitis and is thought to be due to acid entering the lungs during episodes of reflux⁵
• Cannabis smoking – There have been many reported cases where long-term cannabis smokers have developed chronic bronchitis.⁶ However, research is still limited due to the legality of cannabis in different nations
• Second-hand smoke – Even if you are not a smoker, your risk of developing Chronic Bronchitis is increased if you are constantly exposed to cigarette fumes⁷

Symptoms

• Chronic cough – Chronic bronchitis is defined as a persistent productive cough for 3 months of the year for two consecutive years¹
• Wheezing – If the mucus is causing an obstruction, you may find you make a high-pitched breathing sound called a wheeze
• Difficulty breathing – As the disease progresses it may be more difficult to breathe and carry out normal daily tasks
• Frequent chest infections – Chronic bronchitis makes you more susceptible to chest infections

Diagnosis

You will need to visit your GP who will ask you about your symptoms, medical history and smoking history. They will then conduct an examination where they will listen to your chest using a stethoscope. You may have to undergo a test called spirometry. Spirometry is a test that gives healthcare providers information about your general lung health by looking at how much air you can inhale and exhale, by looking for what is known as your FEV1/FVC ratio. FEV1 is a measurement of how much air you breathe out in the first second of breathing out as hard as you can, whereas FVC is a measurement of total lung capacity. If the ratio is less than 0.7 this will confirm a diagnosis of COPD (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence).⁸

If you have an infection, you might be asked to give a sputum culture so the correct antibiotics are given to you if the cause is bacterial. You may also need to undergo a chest x-ray to provide further information about your lung health and if the doctor suspects there may be another cause of your symptoms such as lung cancer.

Treatment and prevention

• The most important treatment or prevention is quitting smoking, this will improve bronchitis symptoms, make you less likely to get as many infections and slow the progression of the disease
• Pulmonary rehabilitation is a series of exercises designed to help ease your breathing
• Bronchodilators are medications which relax the muscles in your airways, allowing them to expand and making it easier for you to breathe
• Oxygen therapy in the event you are not getting enough oxygen
• Steroids may be given to you in the event that you have an exacerbation (flare-up)
• Antibiotics may also be given if there is another lung infection alongside chronic bronchitis

Will chronic bronchitis go away if I quit smoking?

This depends on what is meant by going away. Chronic bronchitis is not a curable disease, so it will not go away once you have quit smoking.  However, quitting smoking will help prevent further damage to your lungs while also improving your symptoms. It’s been consistently found that symptoms of chronic bronchitis are much more prevalent in those who continued smoking than in ex-smokers.⁹

How long does chronic bronchitis last after you quit smoking?

How much improvement is seen depends on each individual; however, one study showed improvements in coughing symptoms for those who quit or reduced their smoking within 12 weeks.¹⁰ Therefore you might see benefits and improvements to your cough fairly quickly after you quit smoking.

Other benefits of quitting smoking

• Reduced risk of lung cancer
• Reduced risk of cancers of the mouth, tongue, salivary glands and throat  
• Reduced risk of strokes
• Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
• Reduced risk of gum disease
• Improves reproductive health
• Improvements in your immune system 

When To Seek Medical Attention

If you have chronic bronchitis you should seek medical attention if you experience symptoms that might indicate an exacerbation such as:¹¹

• A fever
• Sudden increased difficulty in breathing
• You cough up blood-coloured phlegm
• You have a general feeling that you are unwell
• You find you are suddenly more confused

Summary

Overall, while chronic bronchitis is not a curable condition, smoking cessation is a very important step in managing the symptoms and preventing the disease from progressing further. Besides improving your symptoms, there are many other benefits of smoking cessation and it should be strongly considered.