Asthma and Smoking in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Living with asthma in Grand Rapids, MI can be challenging, especially with our cold winters, frequent respiratory infections, and changing seasonal allergens. If you have asthma, smoking—or being around people who smoke—can make your symptoms significantly worse and increase your risk of serious lung problems.

This guide explains how smoking affects asthma, why second-hand smoke is especially harmful in children, and where to find help to quit smoking in Grand Rapids.

How Smoking Affects Asthma

Smoking and asthma are a dangerous combination. For people in Grand Rapids with asthma, smoking can:

  • Increase day-to-day asthma symptoms (cough, wheeze, chest tightness, shortness of breath)
  • Cause more frequent and more severe asthma flare-ups (asthma attacks)
  • Make asthma harder to control, even if you use your inhalers correctly
  • Reduce the benefit you get from some asthma medications
  • Limit your ability to be active—especially in cold Michigan winters, when breathing can already feel more difficult
  • Reduce your overall quality of life

What Smoking Does to Your Lungs

Your lungs are lined with tiny hair-like structures called cilia. These move in a wave-like motion to sweep out dust, pollen, viruses, and other irritants from your airways.

Cigarette smoke:

  • Damages and paralyzes these cilia
  • Makes it harder for your lungs to clean themselves
  • Leads to a buildup of mucus and toxic substances in the lungs
  • Increases your risk of lung infections and chronic lung disease

Over time, smoking can damage the small airways and air sacs (alveoli) in your lungs, causing conditions like emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). As these diseases slowly worsen, airflow becomes limited and shortness of breath becomes more severe—even at rest.

For people with asthma in Grand Rapids, where winter viruses and indoor air pollutants are common, this added damage can be especially serious.

Asthma, Lung Function, and Smoking

Lung function is a measure of:

  • How much air you can breathe in and out
  • How quickly and forcefully you can breathe out

Smoking:

  • Speeds up the loss of lung function over time
  • Makes your lungs less responsive to asthma medications
  • Can lead to permanent damage if you continue to smoke

Quitting smoking:

  • Slows down the loss of lung function
  • Can improve your breathing within weeks to months
  • Often reduces asthma symptoms and the need for reliever inhalers
  • Improves your response to asthma treatment
  • Helps you gain better overall asthma control

Second-hand Smoke and Asthma in Grand Rapids

Breathing in other people’s cigarette smoke (second-hand smoke) is harmful for everyone, but it is especially dangerous for people with asthma and for children.

Second-hand smoke can:

  • Reduce lung function
  • Trigger asthma flare-ups
  • Increase the number and severity of asthma attacks
  • Increase the need for asthma medications
  • Raise the risk of respiratory infections

In Michigan, it is illegal to smoke in cars carrying children under 18 years of age, because the smoke builds up quickly in a small, enclosed space—even with the windows open.

How Second-hand Smoke Affects Children

Children exposed to second-hand smoke are:

  • More likely to develop asthma in childhood
  • More likely to have severe asthma symptoms
  • More likely to have frequent asthma flare-ups
  • More likely to have poorer lung function
  • More likely to be admitted to hospital because of asthma
  • More likely to need higher doses or more frequent use of asthma medications

Children of people who smoke are also more likely to develop:

  • Chest infections (such as bronchitis and pneumonia)
  • Other respiratory illnesses, especially during Michigan’s cold and flu season

Viral chest infections in infancy increase the risk of developing asthma later in childhood, particularly in infants who are sensitive to allergens like dust mites, pet dander, or pollen—common triggers in West Michigan homes.

Smoking During Pregnancy and Your Baby’s Health

If a woman smokes during pregnancy, the chemicals in cigarette smoke pass to the developing baby through the umbilical cord.

Smoking in pregnancy can:

  • Affect the baby’s lung development
  • Increase the baby’s risk of weaker lungs and early-life wheezing
  • Raise the risk of the child developing asthma
  • Cause low birth weight
  • Increase the risk of premature labor
  • Increase the risk of fetal death and stillbirth

If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy in Grand Rapids, talk with your OB/GYN, midwife, or primary care provider at local health systems such as Corewell Health (formerly Spectrum Health), Trinity Health Grand Rapids, Metro Health – University of Michigan Health, or Mercy Health about quitting smoking as soon as possible.

Asthma, Smoking, and Sensitive Airways

People with asthma have extra-sensitive airways. Certain “triggers” can cause the airways to tighten, swell, and fill with mucus, leading to an asthma flare-up.

Common asthma triggers in Grand Rapids include:

  • Cigarette and cigar smoke
  • Vaping aerosol (e-cigarettes)
  • Cold, dry winter air
  • Seasonal pollen (spring and fall)
  • Indoor allergens (dust mites, pet dander, mold in damp basements)
  • Respiratory infections (colds, flu, RSV, COVID-19)

Smoking and second-hand smoke:

  • Directly irritate and inflame the airways
  • Trigger asthma flare-ups
  • Increase how often you have flare-ups
  • Increase how severe your symptoms become
  • Increase your need for asthma medication

Vaping, E-Cigarettes, and Asthma

If you are thinking about using an e-cigarette or vape to quit smoking, talk with your doctor first.

Important points:

  • Vapes and e-cigarettes are not harmless, especially for people with asthma
  • The aerosol can irritate and inflame your airways
  • Some people experience more coughing, wheezing, or shortness of breath when they vape
  • Long-term health effects of vaping are still being studied

Evidence-based quitting aids like nicotine replacement therapy (NRT)—patches, gum, lozenges, inhalers, nasal sprays—and certain prescription medications do not have the same lung risks as vaping and have been studied for safety and effectiveness.

Reducing Risk: Asthma and Smoking in Grand Rapids

You can significantly reduce the risk of worsening your asthma by avoiding all forms of tobacco smoke.

Steps to Protect Your Lungs

  • Quit smoking completely

    • This is the single most important step you can take for your asthma and overall health.

  • Make your home 100% smoke-free

    • Ask family members and guests not to smoke inside your home or garage.
    • Do not allow smoking near doors, windows, or vents where smoke can drift inside.

  • Keep your car smoke-free

    • Never smoke in the car, especially with children or people with asthma.
    • Remember: in Michigan, it is illegal to smoke in cars carrying children under 18.

  • Avoid smoky places

    • Stay away from areas where people are smoking, including some outdoor areas around bars, restaurants, and event venues.
    • Ask to be seated in outdoor spaces away from smokers when possible.

  • Plan ahead for social events

    • If you know you will be around smoke, make a plan to limit your exposure.
    • Let friends and family know that smoke worsens your asthma and ask them not to smoke around you.

When You Can’t Avoid Smoky Places

Sometimes, you may not be able to completely avoid smoke—for example, at outdoor events, family gatherings, or crowded public areas.

If you can’t always stay away from smoky places, it is especially important to:

  • Manage your asthma every day as prescribed by your doctor
  • Use your preventer (controller) inhaler regularly if one is prescribed
  • Carry your reliever (rescue) inhaler with you at all times
  • Use your reliever before entering a smoky environment if recommended by your doctor
  • Leave the area immediately if you start to feel chest tightness, wheeze, or shortness of breath

If you need to use your reliever medication more than two times per week (not counting doses before exercise), schedule a visit with your doctor or asthma specialist in Grand Rapids. Your asthma treatment plan or medication doses may need to be adjusted.

Working With Your Asthma Action Plan

An asthma action plan is a written plan created with your doctor that tells you:

  • Which medications to take every day
  • What to do when your symptoms get worse
  • When to seek urgent or emergency care

If you live in Grand Rapids and are exposed to smoke at home, work, or social settings, an asthma action plan is especially important. Ask your doctor at:

  • Corewell Health (Spectrum Health) Pulmonology or Allergy & Asthma clinics
  • Trinity Health Grand Rapids
  • Metro Health – University of Michigan Health
  • Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital (for children with asthma)

to help you create or update your asthma action plan.

Getting Help to Quit Smoking in Grand Rapids, MI

Quitting smoking can be challenging, but you don’t have to do it alone. In Grand Rapids, there are several local and statewide resources to support you.

Talk With a Healthcare Professional

Speak with:

  • Your primary care doctor
  • A pulmonologist (lung specialist)
  • Your asthma or allergy specialist
  • Your pharmacist

They can:

  • Discuss your options for quitting
  • Recommend nicotine replacement therapy (patches, gum, lozenges, inhalers, sprays)
  • Prescribe medications that can help reduce cravings
  • Help you adjust your asthma medications as your lungs begin to recover

Local and Michigan Resources

  • Kent County Health Department

    • Offers tobacco cessation information, referrals, and community programs
    • Website: search “Kent County Health Department tobacco cessation”

  • Grand Rapids Public Health / City of Grand Rapids

    • May provide local resources, classes, and support groups

  • Michigan Tobacco Quitline

    • Free counseling and support for Michigan residents
    • Phone: 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669)
    • Website: search “Michigan Tobacco Quitline”

  • Hospital-based programs in Grand Rapids

    • Corewell Health, Trinity Health, and Metro Health often offer smoking cessation programs, classes, or referrals.

Before using nicotine replacement therapy or quitting medications, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about which products are best and safest for you, especially if you have asthma, heart disease, are pregnant, or are taking other medications.

Key Points to Remember

  • Smoking and asthma together can lead to more severe symptoms, more frequent asthma flare-ups, and poorer lung function.
  • Second-hand smoke can cause asthma in children and make existing asthma much worse.
  • Smoking during pregnancy harms your baby’s lungs and increases the risk of serious complications.
  • You can reduce the risk of worsening your asthma by avoiding all cigarette smoke, keeping your home and car smoke-free, and managing your asthma daily.
  • To quit smoking, it is important to speak with your doctor or pharmacist first about safe, effective options.
  • If you can’t always avoid smoky places, make sure your asthma is well controlled, carry your reliever inhaler, and follow your asthma action plan.

If you live in Grand Rapids, MI and have asthma, reach out to your local healthcare provider or one of the major health systems for personalized support. Quitting smoking and reducing smoke exposure can make a major difference in your breathing, your day-to-day comfort, and your long-term health.