OXFORD, Miss. ÷ Emphysema's damaging effects begin to set in almost as soon as one starts smoking, especially in the young, according to leading respiratory officials. "Emphysema is generally thought of as an older person's disease but it is a process. When you use tobacco products, you run the risk of developing it later in life," said Anita Bales, tobacco program manager of the American Lung Association in Mississippi.

When the air sacs of the lungs over-inflate, a breakdown of the air sacs' walls occur, causing emphysema and the respiratory function of the lungs decrease.

"College students are still developing in a sense, and recent research keeps telling us that the younger a person is, the faster the addition is to cigarettes," Bales said.

Smoking is responsible for 80 percent to 90 percent of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, including emphysemas and chronic bronchitis, according to the American Lung Association's Web site.

In emphysema, the lungs lose their ability to protect against the destruction of elastic fibers that allow the lungs to expand and contract when breathing.

"Two million people suffer from emphysema in the United States, and in 1998, 112,584 people died from emphysema and chronic bronchitis," Bales said.

Emphysema is a process and happens gradually, usually from years of exposure to cigarette smoke. Early symptoms of emphysema include shortness of breath and chronic coughing.

A person suffering from emphysema possesses thin and fragile air sacs, and the damage to the air sacs is irreversible, causing "holes" in the tissues of the lower lungs, the ALA's site said.

Shortness of breath is caused because the lungs can no longer transfer oxygen to the bloodstream and the person experiences great difficulty exhaling making it difficult to do daily activities.