ABSTRACT
Without smoking, and in particular without the availability of relatively cheap massproduced cigarettes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) would be a relatively rare condition. Public awareness of the risks of smoking is growing and in many countries of the world legislation over the last dozen years has slowly limited the availability of places where smokers can ‘light up’. The sale of cigarettes to minors has been limited and, increasingly, advertising has been prohibited. One day, perhaps, cigarettes may no longer be sold. For any clinician involved in the management of patients with COPD it is to be sincerely hoped that that day will come sooner rather than later.
