In addition, smoking can destroy the cilia—or tiny hairs in your airway that keep dirt and mucus out of your lungs. When these cilia are destroyed, you develop what is known as “smoker's cough,” a chronic cough that is often seen in long-term or daily smokers. Lung damage due to smoking does not end there.

Can cilia be destroyed by smoking?

Other Respiratory Damage Caused by Smoking

Cilia are tiny hair-like projections that protect the airways by sweeping away mucus and dust particles and keeping the lungs clear. Smoking damages and eventually destroys these cilia.

How does smoke kill cilia?

Cilia are tiny hair-like projections that protect the body's airways by sweeping away mucus and foreign matter such as dust particles so the lungs can remain clear. Toxicants in tobacco smoke paralyze the cilia and eventually destroy them, removing an important protection from the respiratory system.