yes. smoking increases mucus production and impairs the clearing action of the cilia in the airway. also the addition of bacteria inflammatory cells and damaged lung cells to the secretions in the airway and lung make the secretions especially thick tenacious and difficult to clear. therefore in such a stagnant and nutritious (the mucus) environment bacteria can flourish and cause infection of the lung (pneumonia). furthermore even the inflammatory cells are damaged by tobacco smoke so that their ability to fight infection is diminished. for all of these reasons pneumonia is not only more common but it is often also more severe in smokers with copd (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that is emphysema and/or chronic bronchitis) than in non-smokers without copd. moreover the inflammatory cells that accumulate in the lung to fight off the infection can fill the alveolar spaces and thereby further limit diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide. therefore smokers with copd who already have impaired breathing (pulmonary function) often become much worse when there is a superimposed infection of the lung (pneumonia).
are smokers with copd predisposed to developing pneumonia?