Late Night Host, Johnny Carson Dies of Emphysema

This past Sunday, January 23rd, former host of the Tonight Show, Johnny Carson died at age 79 of complications due to emphysema. Mr. Carson, who had hosted the late night variety show for 30 years, had retired 13 years ago. In the early years of his show, he was often seen with a cigarette in his hand. Later on, when attitudes began to shift about smoking on television, he stopped smoking on-air.

Emphysema is a disease in which the walls of the delicate, tiny air-sacs in the lungs break and form larger pockets for air to circulate through. The result is less surface area for the lungs to process oxygen and carbon dioxide, causing shortness of breath.