How well do your lungs work?

One way doctors can tell if you have COPD is by measuring the airflow of your lungs.²

Through a simple breathing test called spirometry, a machine measures the breathing capacity of your lungs including how much air you can breathe out in one second, a reading called forced expiratory volume (FEV₁).²

If the airways of your lungs are blocked or “obstructed”, you will not be able to breathe out as much air as someone without airway obstruction.²

Smoking and lung function

• Lung function naturally decreases as you age. As a result, you may become more breathless doing activities you may once have found easy to perform.⁴
• Cigarette smoking accelerates the decline in lung function and is the leading cause of COPD.¹
• If you stop smoking, the decline in your lung function can be slowed down.¹

Effects of smoking on FEV₁⁴