Answers to questions are offered as information only and not as medical diagnosis or advice and should always be used in conjunction with advice from your personal diving physician. The Lancet, July 15, 2000. Dentists, accountants, lawyers and ad execs spent the most time thinking about sex. Brandweek, June 12, 2000. The emphysema that is caused can produce air-filled dilations.
Smoking also causes an increase in bronchial mucous production and paralysis of the cilia.
Without these cells, the only way to get the mucous out of the lungs is to cough it out. Mucous plugs then become dangerous to the diver, setting the stage for air-filled sacs that lead to rupture upon ascent. One other potential problem is the reduction in oxygen saturation and the increase in carbon dioxide retention. At depth, this could become a problem with the increased partial pressures of changing depths. If there is airway restriction, emphysema or trapped air in any form, then there is the possibility of pulmonary barotrauma and arterial gas embolism with ascent from depth.