Lung age screening helps smokers quit
13 March 2008
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There is a good response rate from smokers over 35 who are told their lung age and receive individualised, written information about their lung age and recommended to stop smoking. 
Dr Gary Parkes, lead researcher
New research suggests that telling smokers how much their habit has aged their lungs makes them more likely to quit.
Researchers studied more than 500 smokers over the age of 35 to measure their forced expiratory volume (FEV). This is the amount of air a person is able to forcefully breathe out in one second. After the test, half the smokers were sent their lung volume as a number of litres of air. The other group were told their results in person in terms of their "lung age" in years. Lung age is the age of a healthy person who would have the same lung capacity as the smoker.
The study showed that after a year more people who had been told their lung age in years had given up smoking than those who were given their lung volume in litres. This was true whether they had been told that their lung age was normal or greater than their actual age.
According to the researchers, if a smoker's lung age wasn't greater than their actual age, they saw it as a good reason to stop before they did any harm. If the test showed that the smoker's lungs had aged prematurely, they had an incentive to stop in order to slow down any further damage.
Lead researcher Dr Gary Parkes told the Bupa health information team that he would like to see the introduction of a national screening programme for all smokers over 35. He said: "There is a good response rate from smokers over 35 who are told their lung age and receive individualised, written information about their lung age and recommended to stop smoking."
Dr Parkes also commented: "This type of screening is useful in identifying chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), even in people who don't have any symptoms." At the moment, the average age of people being diagnosed with COPD is 55 but screening can pick this up in smokers from about the age of 35.
The researchers say that the way in which information is given to smokers is very important. If it is easy for them to understand, they are more likely to try to quit.
The group who were told their lung age was also shown a graph illustrating how lung function gets worse as people get older and how smoking can speed up this process. Everyone who took part in the study was also advised to quit smoking and given information about smoking cessation services.
The findings were published in advance of National No Smoking Day on 12 March when it's estimated that more than a million people try to give up smoking.
Related information
- Cancer - a general overview - health factsheet
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) - health factsheet
- Giving up smoking - health factsheet
- Heart attack - health factsheet
- Quit smoking - health article
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