The amount of time between first breathing in asbestos and the first signs of disease can vary from 10 to 40 years. The more a person is exposed to asbestos, the more the risk of getting an asbestos-related disease. Smoking and Asbestos Exposure Cigarette smokers get lung cancer 10 times more often than non-smokers. Smokers who also breathe in asbestos fibers get lung cancer up to 92-times more than people who don't smoke and aren't exposed to asbestos. This is why it is very important for people who have been exposed to asbestos to stop smoking.
Smoking can cause cancer as well as heart disease, emphysema, and other diseases.
This because your lungs clean themselves. Your chance of getting lung cancer becomes less and less over time, once you stop smoking. Help is available for smokers on successful ways to stop smoking for good. 29 Emmans Drive, Bldg. When an old furnace or boiler which is insulated with asbestos is changed to a new heating system, the chance of a large release of asbestos fibers is great.