Yuma man warns others about dangers of long-term smoking

Sherrill Vick smoked for 62 years after being drafted into the Vietnam War at age 20, and now the 81-year-old Yuma man depends on an oxygen tank because his lungs are working at only 30 percent capacity. Even a simple outing, like going out for dessert, now has to be planned around his breathing equipment.

The county’s public health district is tasked with protecting residents from environmental hazards and promoting healthy behaviors. During summer heat season, everyone can be at risk, with older adults among the most vulnerable. Arizona’s 2024 heat-illness report put La Paz, Mohave and Yuma counties at the highest rates of heat-related emergency department visits per population in the state.

Smoking is the leading cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the United States, and smoking accounts for as many as 8 out of 10 COPD-related deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tobacco smoking accounts for more than 70 percent of COPD cases in high-income countries, according to the World Health Organization. For people who have smoked for decades, warning signs that should prompt a doctor visit include a cough that will not go away, worsening shortness of breath, wheezing, chest tightness, or repeated respiratory infections. Doctors can check lung function and look for COPD before breathing problems become severe enough to require oxygen.

The Arizona Smokers’ Helpline is a free telephone and web-based tobacco and nicotine cessation service in Arizona. It can also support nicotine replacement therapy and, in some cases, provide free nicotine replacement products to help people stop smoking. Vick says he wants others to learn from what happened to him before tobacco use turns ordinary errands, hot afternoons and family outings into medical planning.