Diabetes and smoking
Tobacco smoking is an important factor in the development of complications of the eyes, kidneys and blood vessels. It is extremely unusual for a person with diabetes to have a leg amputated due to blocked blood vessels unless they smoke.
While quitting may not be easy, it could be the best thing you could do to prevent the complications of diabetes.
Your blood glucose level
Research has found that smoking raises your blood glucose level, making it harder to control your diabetes. This is probably because nicotine and other products of smoking make it more difficult for insulin to work properly.
Your heart
If you smoke and have diabetes, you are more likely to have a heart attack and 3 times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease. Uncontrolled blood glucose levels cause blood vessels to narrow. Smoking makes blood cells stick together and blood vessel walls stickier, so that fat attaches to the vessel walls even faster. Fat deposits can block blood vessels, which leads to heart attack and stroke. The nicotine in cigarettes increases your heart rate, and the carbon monoxide in cigarettes reduces oxygen in the blood. This means your heart has to work harder.
Your circulation
Smoking slows the circulation in the smaller blood vessels. People with diabetes are more likely to suffer from poor circulation in their feet and legs. Smoking can also aggravate foot ulcers, foot infections and blood vessel disease in the legs.
Your eyes
Diabetes can block the tiny blood vessels in the eyes, a condition called retinopathy. If you smoke, it is likely you will experience even more trouble with your sight.
Your kidneys
Smoking increases the risk of life-threatening kidney disease in those with diabetes. It may be due to a temporary increase in blood pressure and the effects of cigarette smoke on chemicals in the body that control kidney function.
Your sex life
If you are a man who smokes and has diabetes, you are more likely to experience problems having an erection. Smoking slows down blood flow and blocks blood vessels in the penis, and nerve damage may reduce sensation.
Your joints
If you smoke and have diabetes, you increase the likelihood of reducing movement and flexibility in your joints.
Your nerves
If you have diabetes, smoking will increase the risk of nerve damage in all parts of your body, a condition which leads to numbness and sometimes pain. It may be that smoking damages the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to the nerves.
Your teeth
If you smoke and have diabetes, you will have a greater chance of developing gum disease and losing your teeth.
Last Reviewed: 08 July 2003
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