Just one cigarette can immobilize cilia movement for hours. Smoking can also reduce the number of cilia in the lungs, impairing the ability to clean the lungs. Having fewer cilia can also cause ...

Tiny hairs in the airways, called cilia, prevent dirt and mucus from getting into the lungs. Smoking tobacco can destroy these hairs, allowing a number of these irritants to build up in the lungs.

linked to stopping smoking using varenicline. The identified genetic variants highlight the involvement of genes in regulating gene activity and in the function of hair-like extensions of cells, ...