I'm now in my ninth and final rotation, and in each rotation I have counseled multiple patients on their smoking use, so it seems appropriate to do a little PSA on smoking for everyone reading and, hopefully, reduce the number of people I'll need to counsel in the future. The thing is, I think most people are aware that smoking is not a good idea, and for me to repeat the same warnings most people have heard hundreds of times seems ineffective. So here's another approach: in my clinical medicine classes, my classmates and I joked that smoking was a risk factor for everything (and not just lung cancer as many people believe), so I started writing down all the conditions that listed smoking as a risk factor. I present this list to you now, with no further comments other than to say that in the interest of simplicity I'm going to refer to any type of cancer by the organ it affects (rather than differentiating it by cell type) and that I will continue to update this list as I discover more conditions linked to smoking.
- Cardiovascular
- Atherosclerosis
- Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)
- Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
- Angina
- Stable, unstable, and Prinzmetal (variant)
- Myocardial infarction (aka heart attack)
- NSTEMI and STEMI
- Aortic stenosis
- Renal artery stenosis
- Aortic aneurysm
- Dyslipidemia
- Thrombophlebitis
- Both superficial and deep vein thrombosis
- Chronic venous insufficiency
- Varicose veins
- Hypertension
- Intracerebral hemorrhage
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage
- Intracranial aneurysm
- Respiratory
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Risk factor for both types (chronic bronchitis and emphysema)
- Pulmonary Embolism (PE)
- Asthma
- Interstitial Lung diseases
- Interstitial pneumonitis
- Respiratory bronchiolitis
- Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
- Desquamative interstitial pneumonitis (DIP)
- Anthracosis
- Smoking cessation is also a recommended part of treatment for most interstitial lung diseases to improve overall lung function and to decrease risk of developing a concurrent lung cancer.
- Pneumothorax
- Specifically linked to primary spontaneous pneumothoraces
- Bronchiectasis
- Pneumonia
- Bronchiolitis
- Lung cancer
- Gastrointestinal
- Barrett's esophagus
- Peptic Ulcer Disease (PUD)
- Particularly gastric ulcers
- Acute gastritis
- Esophagitis
- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
- Crohn's disease
- Esophageal cancer
- Pancreatic cancer
- Gastric cancer
- Small bowel cancer
- Colon cancer
- Rectal cancer
- Anal cancer
- Liver cancer
- Reproductive
- Female Reproductive System
- Placental abruption (aka abruptio placentae)
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Breast cancer
- Uterine cancer
- Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID)
- Male Reproductive System
- Erectile Dysfunction (ED)
- Both genders
- Infertility
- Musculoskeletal
- Osteoporosis
- Medial Epicondylitis (i.e. "golfer's elbow")
- Lateral Epicondylitis (i.e. "tennis elbow")
- Lymphatic
- Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
- Nodular Lymphocyte-Predominant Hogkins Lymphoma
- Head, Ear, Eyes, Nose, and Throat (HEENT)
- Acute otitis media (AOM)
- Seen in infants due to second-hand smoke
- Tinnitus
- Eustachian tube dysfunction
- Rhinosinusitis
- Chronic pharyngitis
- Peritonsillar abscess
- Laryngitis
- Reinke's edema
- Vocal cord polyps
- "Singer's Nodules"
- Blepharitis
- Retinal artery occlusion
- Cataracts
- Macular degeneration
- Periodontal disease
- Oral leukoplakia
- Hairy tongue
- Laryngeal cancer
- Nasopharyngeal cancer
- Oral cavity cancer
- Oropharyngeal cancer
- Neurological
- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
- Migraine
- Renal/urinary
- Bladder cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Rheumatological
- Buerger disease
- Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
- Raynaud phenomenon
- Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA aka temporal arteritis)
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
- Miscellaneous
- Sleep disorders in the elderly
- Skin cancer
- Hiccups
- Incisional hernias
- Increased surgery complications and recovery times
- Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
- Increased risk in infants exposed to cigarette smoke
- Common cold
If you are a parent, please be aware that second-hand smoke can have a big effect on your children, so do not smoke around them. You should also be aware, however, of the dangers of third-hand smoke. Third-hand smoke is essentially the residue left on surfaces by cigarette smoke. It's not a big deal for most adults, but for small children who touch everything and also put their hands into their mouths without washing them, this is another way for them to take cigarette smoke into their bodies. That being the case, please don't smoke inside, even if you don't smoke when your kids are around.
If you're interested in quitting smoking, and thus reducing your risk of getting anything I've listed, here are some resources for you:
- The toll-free number from the National Cancer Institute is 1-800-QUIT-NOW
- For information about quitlines, see here.
- For your state quitline, see here.
- For the American Lung Association, see here.
- For information about quitting and access to quitting apps, see here.
- For information about your quitting options, see here.
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