Asthma

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the lungs that causes severe breathing problems. The small air passages in your lungs become narrow. It becomes hard to breathe. Smoking cigarettes can cause asthma. If you already have asthma, smoking can make it worse. Also, being asthmatic and breathing the smoke from someone else’s cigarette, cigar, or pipe can cause an asthma attack.

Asthma Attack

What does an asthma attack feel like? When you have an asthma attack, you may notice an itching sensation over the front part of your neck or upper chest. You might have a dry cough. As the attack progresses, you will begin to wheeze, cough, and have shortness of breath.

If untreated, these symptoms progress to more difficult respirations, fast breathing, coughing, and tightness or pressure in the chest. There might be wheezing at this time. These attacks may go away quickly or last for hours or days. They are very scary for someone with asthma because that person will have the feeling that they are about to suffocate.