Smoking Induces Mutations in Lung Tissue but Quitting Helps Replenish Healthy Cells

NEW YORK – While many cells from the lungs of former smokers harbor genetic mutations, a sizeable portion of their lung cells have a mutational burden that more closely resembles that of never-smokers, a new study has found. Quitting could thus not only prevent further damage from being done but also lead healthy cells to repopulate the lungs.