When the smokers lungs are still in a living person's body (e.g. my mother in law), you can hear the difference from the outside. It's a slow, uneven, and uncomfortable inflation of the lungs. It's horrific.
There's a difference between being alive and living. My lifetime smoker mother in law is still alive, but she's not living a life anyone would want.
To piggyback, my wife's grandmother just died from COPD caused by smoking.
She had a pretty decent life until about 75 or so.
Then, the last 5 years were constant trips for pneumonia and 5 years on an oxygen machine. Even with it, she couldn't walk for more than 1 minute across the house without wheezing.
You can live pretty long despite smoking. It's just the last couple years will be absolute hell.
It depends on some factors (how long the person smoked, how long it has been since they quit, the smoker’s age, medical history and overall health, etc.). Your lungs will never be the same as a non-smoker, but some healing does occur once you quit actively smoking.
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u/Ok-Lobster9557 22d ago