Tobacco Worker’s Lung: A deeper look

Dr. Mark Hochberg MD has recently started writing and releasing a series of informative and educational blogs on lung health. From the effects of the coronavirus to helpful tips on how to improve respiratory capacity, Dr. Hochberg touches on many topics that are incredibly helpful to readers everywhere.

For this blog, Dr. Mark Hochberg MD explores a particular parenchymal lung disease called tobacco worker’s lung or TWL.

In the U.S., TWL is under hypersensitivity pneumonitis. In the U.K., it is under the category of extrinsic allergic alveolitis. TWL, as the name suggests, is caused by the inhalation of tobacco molds, and happens in tobacco fields and cigarette factories. Workers at these factories are affected the most. TWL has also been found to be more prevalent in humid places, with the atmosphere allowing tobacco mold to grow faster.

Aspergillus species are the specific antigen that causes TWL, as several case studies have discovered. They can be found in most tobacco molds. This antigen has also been recorded to be quite dangerous to the health of a person as TWL patients experienced forced secretion of proteolytic enzymes and reactive oxygen compounds from their macrophages and polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

Dr. Mark Hochberg MD explains that when treating TWL patients, the first step is always to limit exposure to tobacco molds. He further mentions that in a lot of cases, this alone can help alleviate the symptoms of lung disease.