PrintSend by email By ACCORDANT HEALTH SERVICES If you have CF
(cystic fibrosis) it is not safe for you to smoke. Smoking is
not good for anyone, but it is especially bad for people with
CF. Smoking makes it harder for your lungs to work right. It
irritates the lining of the lungs and increases coughing. It
also makes the lungs produce more mucus. These factors make it
easier for a lung infection to start. Smoking may make airway
clearance treatments less effective. It may take away the
benefits the lungs get from exercise. Smoking is also bad for
people with CF because it can reduce hunger. This can result in
weight loss. Losing weight due to smoking would be bad for
anyone who is already not growing normally. Secondhand smoke is
any smoke that comes from cigarettes, cigars, or pipes, or that
is breathed out by a person who is smoking. If you are the
parent of a child with CF, you should not smoke because
secondhand smoke is harmful to your child. For those with a
certain CF gene type, secondhand smoke can e