Woolcock Institute of Medical Research reveals bushfire smoke damages lungs like cigarette smoking CFS firefighters at a bushfire in Charleston Conservation Park. BREATHING bushfire smoke can damage lungs in a similar way to smoking cigarettes, new research shows. The research by the Sydney-based Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and published in international scientific journal PLOS ONE, involved laboratory tests on human lung cells. The tests showed that smoke from burning wood could scar and inflame the lungs, and that those exposed to such smoke were at risk of developing chronic, degenerative lung disease. Lead author, Woolcock cell biologist Dr Brian Oliver, said the discovery was a timely warning about exposure to wood smoke from bushfires. Thousands of Country Fire Service volunteers have battled more than 350 fires across South Australia as a scorching heatwave grips the state. "There's a message here that the smoke we inhale from burning biomass fuels can do long-term lasting damage to our lungs," Dr Oliver said. That makes exposure to wood smoke a potentially important risk factor in the development of chronic lung diseases. The laboratory tests found that wood smoke on the lungs triggered the release of extracellular matrix proteins, important in the formation of scar tissue, and the production of key inflammatory mediators. The paper focused on smoke from biological materials and its potential role in triggering the chronic disease COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), which attacks and destroys the lungs over time. The disease affects one in 13 Australians aged 40 and over, with smoking the primary cause. Dr Oliver said his tests indicated wood smoke had a similar effect to cigarette smoke in damaging human lung cells. The effect on the lungs was similar to that observed in patients with COPD, he said. "We take cigarette smoke exposure very seriously," Dr Oliver said. Our evidence suggests it might be time to do the same with wood smoke and try to minimise exposure. The State Government last year announced plans to compensate Metropolitan Fire Service firefighters for work-related cancers, but volunteer Country Fire Service firefighters were not included in the scheme. The Greens moved amendments to the Bill to include Country Fire Service volunteers in the scheme, but this was blocked by the State Government and the Bill did not pass in any form before State Parliament rose at the end of last year. Premier Jay Weatherill said that, at present, the focus was on firefighters battling blazes across the state. "There is going to be plenty of time to talk about those matters in the future," he said. If they contract any illness or disease which is being caused or contributed by their work they will be fully compensated. The arrangements we put in place are among the most generous in the nation alongside Tasmania for presumptions in their favour when they are associated with exposure of certain levels of carcinogens that occur in the firefighting environment.