Is it true that … your lungs regenerate when you quit smoking?

Our lungs have evolved to heal from damage, but some smokers will suffer irreversible effects It used to be thought that the lungs couldn’t regenerate,” says Dr Charlotte Dean, head of the lung development and disease group at Imperial College London. “But we know now that’s not the case. Broadly speaking, they can repair when you quit smoking.” Smoking is in effect damaging your lungs, Dean says, and the lungs have a substantial capacity to heal themselves. They have evolved to cope with po...

By Kate Lloyd