A shopkeeper reaches for a packet of Marlboro cigarettes in London
A shopkeeper reaches for a packet of Marlboro cigarettes in London in this file photo taken November 28, 2013. Cigarette maker Philip Morris International Inc cut its earnings forecast for 2014 and said it is proving to be a "complex and truly atypical" year for the company. Reuters

A New Zealand research has discovered a way to offset lung damage from smoking. Researchers have found that a high-fibre diet can help minimise the effects of smoking to the lungs.

According to researchers from the University of Auckland, quitting smoking is still the best way to reduce the effects of lung cancer or emphysema. However, eating high-fibre food can lessen the risk of lung inflammation.

Global Post reported that lung inflammation has been proven to play a significant role in progressive lung damage which often increases the risk of lung cancer and emphysema. Inflammation in the lungs can shorten the life of the smoker by 15 to 20 years.

Associate professor and study author Robert Young said the study supports key theory that a high-fibre diet has beneficial effects as it stimulates the absorption of naturally occurring chemicals that prevent inflammation. These chemicals are small chain fatty acids from "protective gut bacteria."

Young said in a statement that the protective bacteria develop in the gut of a person following a high-fibre diet. Harmful gut bacteria flourish in people consuming low-fibre food. He and his fellow researchers were working with other scientists from around the world to determine how a diet high in fibre can reduce effects of smoking on lungs.

Stuff.co reported that a smoking cessation expert in Manawatu claimed that the New Zealand government was not taking the country's smoke-free goal by 2025 seriously. The Ministry of Health had released a review of the Shore & Whariki Research Centre's review of the country's tobacco control services.

According to the review, evidence suggest that most of the programmes the ministry is funding has been effective but smoking prevalence remains a problem as the highest smoking rates have been observed among Maori. Smoking cessation team leader Fay Selby-Law said it was difficult to achieve the long-term goal of the New Zealand government since not enough money was being invested in tobacco control. Selby-Law said the government will need to restrict the sale of tobacco further since it has not made it difficult for both sellers and buyers.