How do people develop emphysema? Most of the time, people who smoke are those that suffer from this type of lung disease. But new studies show that it might no longer be the case. It reveals that just be mere exposure to air pollution every day; a person is likely to develop lung problems in the long run. 

The results of the study were recently published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA). It reveals that long-term exposure to ground-level ozone, which is basically the main component of smog, can be likened to the level of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, as seen in the CNN report. A slight increase in the levels of air pollution can lead to lung damage, even for individuals who have never smoked a stick in their life. 

"We have found that an increase of about three parts per billion of air pollution levels on the ground-level ozone, the space that's practically outside every home is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day," said Joel Kaufman, an epidemiologist and physician from the University of Washington. He contributed to the study, as reported by the NPR. 

The study included 7,071 adults between the age of 46 to 84 from six key cities in the US including New York and Chicago. The team created a method to measure the exposure to look at the air pollution present outside the participant's home. They carried out breathing tests and CT scans, according to the US News and World Report. The assessment of the environment included looking into the presence of nitrogen oxide, black carbon, fine particulate matter and the ozone. 

All these major pollutants were found to increase the risks for emphysema, a chronic lung disease that is simply irreversible. It causes shortness of breath and reduces the amount of oxygen that reaches the blood. It has always been associated to smoking, but it becomes much worse for second-hand smokers. The new study reveals that direct smoking is not the only reason for the prevalence of emphysema. Exposure to ground zero ozone and their high levels of pollution increases the prevalence of patients with emphysema who are non-smokers. 

"The rate of patients suffering from chronic lung disease in the country has been increasing and what is surprising is that the disease is usually recognized among patients who are non-smokers," said Kaufman. "We really need to understand what could be causing the problem and it seems as if air pollution exposure has become the most common contributor. The worst thing about it is that it's hard to avoid."