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A lack of Vitamin D is associated with worse lung function and more rapid decline in lung function over time in smokers, according to a team of Boston researchers. 

The new study is suggesting that vitamin D may have a protective effect against the effects of smoking on lung function. 

Lead author Nancy Lange said an extensive examination was conducted to find the relationship between vitamin D deficiency, smoking, lung function, and the rate of lung function decline. 

The findings were published online in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Between 1984 and 2003, on over 600 men. vitamin D levels were assessed at three different and lung function was also assessed. Researchers say no significant effect of vitamin D levels on lung function or lung function decline were observed in the overall study cohort, which included both smokers and non-smokers.

"Our results suggest that vitamin D might modify the damaging effects of smoking on lung function," Lange said. "These effects might be due to vitamin D's anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties."

However, researchers have noted that the study has some limitations because data is observational only and not a trial, vitamin D levels fluctuate over time and only elderly men were used in the study.

"If these results can be replicated in other studies, they could be of great public health importance," Lange said. "Future research should also examine whether vitamin D protects against lung damage from other sources, such as air pollution."

Alexander White, chair of the American Thoracic Society's Tobacco Action Committee, said more education must be done. 

"While these results are intriguing, the health hazards associated with smoking far outweigh any protective effect that vitamin D may have on lung function," White said. "First and foremost, patients who smoke should be fully informed about the health consequences of smoking and in addition be given all possible assistance to help them quit smoking."

In the United States, tobacco use is responsible for about one in five deaths annually and on average, smokers die 13 to 14 years earlier than nonsmokers. Approximately 69 percent of smokers want to quit completely and about 52 percent of smokers attempted to quit in 2010.