Scientists claim lungs magically repair damage from smoking if one quits

A group of researchers have found that our lungs have a magical capability to repair some of the damages caused by smoking if a person quits the habit.

As per the study published in the journal Nature, lungs cells that escape the damage can help repair other damaged cells in the organ.

Interestingly, the results were positive in people who smoked earlier but had quit. The study indicated positive results even in people who used to smoke a complete pack of cigarettes earlier before calling it quits.

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The study's joint senior author, Peter Campbell of the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said the results should give new hope to smokers who want to quit.

"People who have smoked heavily for 30, 40 or more years often say to me that it's too late to stop smoking -- the damage is already done," he said in a statement issued by the institute.

"What is so exciting about our study is that it shows that it's never too late to quit," he said as reported by news agency AFP.

The study even consisted of participants who had smoked over 15,000 packs of cigarettes in their life but after quitting, just within a few years, "many of the cells lining their airways showed no evidence of damage from tobacco".

The study was conducted by analysing lung biopsies from 16 people, a group which included current smokers, ex-smokers and people who had never smoked including some children.

Campbell explained how healthy cells begin to gradually proliferate and take place of damaged cells once a person quits smoking.

Smoking is one of the primary causes of lung cancer. US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention classifies cigarette smoking as the number one risk factor for lung cancer.

"In the United States, cigarette smoking is linked to about 80% to 90% of lung cancer deaths," the CDC website reads.

World Health Organisation describes tobacco use as "the most important risk factor for cancer, s responsible for approximately 22% of cancer deaths".

(With inputs from AFP)