Smoking and Diabetes: A Deadly Combination

Smoking and diabetes are a bad combination - but up until now, scientists haven't known exactly why. Now, for the first time, researchers linked the nicotine in tobacco directly to the complications of diabetes - and to poorly controlled blood sugar levels. So, if you're a smoker with diabetes, there's another good reason to kick the habit.

Smoking and Diabetes: A Deadly Combination

Diabetics are at high risk for complications involving almost every organ system in the body including the eyes, nerves, kidneys, blood vessels and heart. The risk of these complications can be reduced by keeping blood sugar levels under good control and by making healthy lifestyle changes. Smoking makes both of these a challenge.

Smokers have higher levels of hemoglobin A1C, and doctors usually check a diabetic's hemoglobin A1C level as a measure of how well blood sugars have been controlled over the past twelve weeks. This is more reliable than a single fasting blood sugar reading. High hemoglobin A1C levels means poor blood sugar control, which increases the risk of developing the complications of diabetes.

With this new research, scientists discovered it's the nicotine in cigarettes that's responsible for this rise in hemoglobin A1C. In fact, nicotine in cigarettes raises levels of hemoglobin A1C by as much as 34%. According to Dr. Xiao-Chuan Liu, Ph.D, the more nicotine a person is exposed too, the higher the levels of hemoglobin A1C.

Other Effects of Smoking on Diabetes

Diabetics are already at higher risk for heart and kidney disease, but smoking raises that risk even further - independently of its effect on blood sugar levels. Nicotine elevates blood pressure, which puts additional strain on the heart and kidneys, and it reduces the amounts of oxygen that organs and tissues receive. Combine that with the effect of diabetes, and you have a deadly combination.

Sadly, many youth and young adults with diabetes take up smoking, which they may pay for down the road with chronic health problems and an early death. Even more disturbing is the fact that some of these young people already have early evidence of heart disease.

Smoking and Diabetes: The Bottom Line?

Both smoking and diabetes are risk factors for heart disease and other health problems. Put them together and they're a double whammy. If you're diabetic, reduce your risk of the complications of diabetes by kicking the habit. Using nicotine replacement products to quit could make blood sugars more difficult to control, so talk to your doctor about other alternatives to stop smoking.

References:

Eurekalert.org. "First Identification of Nicotine as Main Culprit in Diabetes Complications Among Smokers"

Merck Manual. Eighteenth edition. 2006.