6 Some of the chemicals in cigarette smoke damage the elastic fibers of the alveoli. How will this affect pulmonary gas exchange, and why? 7 You are riding with paramedics, who are called to a restaurant after a diner chokes on his food and loses consciousness. In providing emergency care, the paramedic cuts a small hole in the diner's throat and inserts a tube. After the tube is placed, she attaches a bag and begins squeezing it rhythmically. Into what anatomical structure did the paramedic cut? What is the tube she inserted, and why?.