COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a chronic respiratory disorder that includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema.  "Chronic"  has nothing to do with severity, but simply means that the problem has been going on for a long time.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is also known as chronic obstructive airways disease (COAD), or chronic obstructive respiratory disease (CORD) and includes the diseases chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

COPD is characterised by limited airflow accompanied by symptoms such as dyspnoea (shortness of breath), cough, wheezing, and increased sputum production.

COPD develops slowly over many years, principally in smokers, progressing with more severe coughing to chronic bronchitis, emphysema, increasing shortness of breath, heart failure, restriction on mobility, increasing disability, the need for multiple medical intervention, and increasing demands for hospital and intensive care treatment.

The primary cause of COPD is cigarette smoking. It is estimated that fifteen to twenty percent of smokers develop COPD. The chances of getting COPD gradually reduce after ceasing smoking.

A small proportion of cases of emphysema are caused by an inherited problem called alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency. This condition is made worse by smoking cigarettes.

Quitting smoking will slow the progression of the illness and should be the first step in any COPD treatment programme. However, unlike heart disease, once COPD is established quitting smoking does not substantially reverse tobacco’s harmful effects. As a result, in much of the developed world COPD is increasing as a cause of death due to the continued high rate of cigarette smoking, especially in women.

No. COPD is not asthma, though it can co-exist. It differs from asthma in its cause and its predisposition to affect older people..

COPD is mostly associated with a long smoking history so therefore affects older patients (middle aged & older); whereas asthma is mostly associated with allergy and occurs early in life.