since i am a respiratory therapist i guess i know a little about this subject. tests do exist to measure the amount of oxygen in your body and this is called a blood gas. you need to have a set of pulmonary function tests done to see if there is any damage to your lungs. as far as permanent damage to your lungs goes there is no way of knowing at this time. some people smoke their whole life and die in their 70's and 80's from some other problem such as heart related problems. oh yes that's right smoking causes heart related problems too as well as a host of other problems. as far as the body regenerating itself every 7 years then why do we fall apart when we get older? if you quit smoking your body will try to HEAL the lungs but only the parts that are not PERMANENTLY DAMAGED. i am not saying that if you smoke 1 cigarette that you will have permanent lung damage because people react differently to cigarettes and other other substances. but i have told this to many smokers and their families and nobody wants to listen until we have to tell them that they are going to DIE FROM LUNG CANCER. THEN EVERYBODY WANTS TO LISTEN AND FEEL SORRY THE SMOKER. yes i feel sorry for them but how many times were they told to QUIT SMOKING!!!!!!
