taken together with previous findings, will help define pathways underlying predisposition to development of COPD and smoking behaviours. A full understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying these genetic associations will improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of COPD and smoking behaviour, and potentially give rise to novel therapeutic strategies for the management of airway disease and prevention of nicotine addiction.Implications of all the available evidenceThis study has improved our understanding of the genetic and molecular basis of smoking behaviour and lung function and provided potential targets for therapeutic intervention. It has also shown the value of sampling from the extremes using a large biobank such as UK Biobank. A similar approach could be adopted for genetic studies of other health-related traits in UK Biobank, using either new genetic assays or the extensive genome-wide data that we and UK Biobank have generated.
