A simple puff may save smokers' lives

Blowing into a tube could help find people at increased risk of getting lung cancer.

The test, called a spirometry, is used to diagnose chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, also known as smoker's lung or emphysema.

A study by Kiwi researchers has found people with COPD are six times more likely to get lung cancer than smokers without the disease.

But project leader associate professor Robert Young of Auckland University said spirometry tests should be given more often, especially as many doctors already had the equipment.

"It's not used all that much. This is not really acceptable, as nearly all patients with lung cancer express feelings of guilt or regret that they smoked and wished they had given up sooner."

Read more.