Smoking and Anemia

April 26, 2023

Nowadays, everybody knows that smoking can increase the risk for many serious medical problems. This includes anemia.

 

Anemia is a reduction in one or more measurements of the red blood cells (RBCs) including hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, hematocrit or RBC count.

 

Cigarette smoking has been associated with numerous chronic diseases that can be complicated by anemia.

If you are prone to iron-deficiency anemia and you are a smoker too, you need to pay attention.

 

Many harmful chemicals enter your lungs when you smoke, which are then absorbed to your blood and spread to the rest of your body through your bloodstream. This has various negative effects on your health.

 

Smoking interferes with your RBCs healthy functioning. The body responds to the lowered functional RBCs by higher red blood cell production. This is called polycythemia. But this is not always enough to lower the risk of anemia, as there are other factors that can cause a greater risk:

 

  • Smoking interferes with vitamin C levels
  • Smoking decreases the level of vitamin C in your body, which is crucial for functional iron absorption. If you want to increase the amount of dietary iron you consume, it is important to add foods rich in vitamin C.
  • Smoking affects your immune system
  • Your body makes too many white blood cells (a sign of infection) in respond to smoking. This places your body under constant stress. Tar and other chemicals also make your immune system weaker, causing you to be more susceptible to a blood disease called autoimmune hemolytic anemia, which is characterized by the malfunction of the immune system. When this happens, your body starts to destroy the normal red blood cells by mistake, which causes anemia.
  • Smoking affects women’s menstrual cycle
  • There is a definite link between heavy periods and risk of anemia. When you smoke, it interferes with your fertility and menstrual cycles, which can lead to excessive bleeding and thus increase your chance of iron-deficiency anemia.
  • Smoking affects your nutrition
  • Smoking suppresses a healthy appetite and affects the way you taste your food, as a result, you may not follow a healthy, balanced diet. This could lead to iron deficiency and subsequent anemia.
  • Smoking during pregnancy affects folic acid
  • Smoking while you are pregnant may not only affect the unborn fetus, but also you may experience lower levels of folic acid which leads to serious problems for your unborn child. Folic acid is an important nutrient to keep the body functioning normally, and the lack of it can result in anemia too. In addition, smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of anemia in your child.

 

 

What can you do?

 

It is advisable to quit smoking as soon as possible.

Here are some tips:

  • Pick a steady date for quitting and stick to it.
  • Try nicotine replacement therapy. Studies have shown that those who paired quitting with this method had greater success than those who did not.
  • Find out what triggers you to smoke (stress, social events, alcohol) and try to avoid them for the first couple of weeks.
  • Follow a healthy, balanced diet to help replenish your immune system and regulate your iron levels.
  • It helps to divert your attention from cravings, improves your mood and it boosts the production of red blood cells.

 

 

 

References:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18479294/

https://www.cancer.org/healthy/stay-away-from-tobacco/guide-quitting-smoking

https://www.uptodate.com/contents/quitting-smoking-beyond-the-basics

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