Among men who were current or former heavy smokers, undergoing lung cancer screening with computed tomography (CT) scanning identified a substantial proportion who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), suggesting that this method may be helpful as an additional tool in detecting COPD, according to a study in the October 26 issue of JAMA. "Smoking is annually projected to cause more than 8 million deaths worldwide in the coming decades. Besides cardiovascular disease and cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a major cause of death in heavy smokers...

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