Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are both forms of COPD but affect different parts of the lungs. Emphysema damages the air sacs (alveoli), causing shortness of breath, while bronchitis inflames and narrows the COPD What Smoking is Really Doing to Your Lungs ABILITY Magazine Childhood Cigarette Smoking and Risk of COPD Journal of the COPD Foundation Vaping and Lung Damage: What Pulmonologists Want You to Know Understanding COPD: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment Options