Smoking Vs Ibs

By: Susan Reynolds



Just as all stimulants seem to affect IBS sufferers harder than those without IBS, tobacco is one of the most extreme. Whether you smoke or chew, tobacco is a powerful gastro-intestinal stimulant, irritant and carcinogen. Because people with IBS have extremely sensitive intestinal tracts anyway, tobacco should be avoided at all costs. But even if you don’t have IBS, the effect tobacco has on your GI tract is severe.

Tobacco has shown to be harmful to the entire digestive system. Two of the most common ailments caused by smoking is heartburn and acid reflux, which are conditions that people with IBS are already more likely to suffer from. Tobacco weakens the sphincter in the oesophagus, therefore allowing stomach acid to flow upward into the oesophagus. Tobacco has also been known to double your chance of developing a peptic ulcer and chemicals in tobacco also hinder the healing of ulcers and make sufferers more likely to develop additional ulcers later in life. The exact increase is unknown but it’s thought to be as high as 10 times as likely. Doctors also believe that there is a link between the development of Crohn’s disease and the possible development of gallstones in tobacco users.

The addictive and poisonous part of tobacco, nicotine, can cause many health problems on its own. Additional weakening of the sphincter of the oesophagus, increased acid production in the stomach and a decrease in the pancreas making sodium bicarbonate, which neutralizes stomach acid. But nicotine isn’t the only problem with tobacco. There are over 400 toxins and at least 43 known carcinogens in tobacco, all of which will hit someone with IBS harder than they would hit a healthy person. A seldom considered side effect of smoking is increased air consumption, which can lead to bloating and flatulence.

And of course, the most common result in long-term cigarette smoking or tobacco chewing is the development of cancer, including cancer of the digestive tract, such as colon, bladder, pancreas, kidney and stomach cancer. It’s not known if IBS sufferers are at a higher risk to develop cancer of the digestive tract, but the additional irritation and stimuli to the body tends to not be favourable for IBS patients.

Tobacco irritates the lining of the intestines, which can cause diarrhoea, intestinal cramping, pain, bloating and gas in IBS patients. Nicotine has been reported to highly increase the frequency of stomach cramps in IBS sufferers. Tobacco use also decreases the efficiency of food digestion and it can also dramatically slow down the metabolism of those with IBS. This can alter bowel movements, which are already a huge problem for those with IBS, and cause bloating. Withdrawal from nicotine can cause both constipation and diarrhoea, again, already a big problem for those with IBS.

So for those people with IBS, sometimes just a small amount of stimuli to the digestive tract can be too much. The effects of tobacco use are universally negative for an average person and can be dramatic for those with IBS. There is no known cure for IBS and treatment options are not widely agreed upon, even by experts. But one treatment everyone can agree on is to reduce or eliminate tobacco use, even if you don’t have IBS!

More Articles

Quit Smoking - Nurse's 10 Best Health Benefits If You Quit Smoking Now! You Can Do It!

... of the many health reasons to look for when you quit that will help you reverse the effects of smoking. To start with - just 20 minutes after you quit smoking your tired lungs and airways will begin to heal. Circulation will improve immediately and your blood pressure and pulse will return to normal. ... 

Health After Smoking

... Ask your doctor to perform a Vital Capacity test to measure the amount of air you take in with each breath. You will be asked to take a deep breath and blow into a device that tells your doctor the volume of air dispelled. Air taken in by healthy lungs holds about 19% oxygen. Smokers take in even less ... 

Stop Smoking Pills: Good Or Bad?

... but soon many unanswered questions cropped up. Is it really possible to stop smoking by taking recourse to pills? If so, for how long the pill diet has to continue? Nicotine's chemical reaction on the body is their main target. Having known this, will they succeed to mimic or block nicotine's destructive ... 

What Are The Available Stop Smoking Drugs And Medications?

... rehearsals. Time has arrived for your final show, or call it showdown with nicotine. It won't give up easily. It is out to confront you ably assisted by around 4000 poisonous elements that it commands, 40 of them cancer-causing. No doubt, your will power to quit smoking is supreme, but let some drugs ... 

Alarming Smoking Facts... Adding To Paper Work?

... view! The topmost among the New Year Resolutions, is to give up smoking! Every year, for the last several years! Hope you have understood! Why it is so difficult to give up smoking? Ask nicotine! Smoking is an addiction. Since tobacco smoke contains this poisonous element, a near-impossible addictive ... 

Anti-Smoking

... the concerns that keep them puffing away is the fear that they ll replace the intake of nicotine with the need to fill their mouths and stomachs with a high calorie sweet substitute. And it s true that binge eating is often the result of the sudden withdrawal of the comforting cigarette puff. Herbal stop ... 

Healthy Alternatives For Smoking Addiction

... addiction means a person has formed an uncontrollable dependence on cigarettes to the point where stopping smoking would cause severe emotional, mental, or physical reactions. Everyone knows that smoking is harmful and addictive, but few people realize just how risky and addictive it is. Chances are that ... 

Help To Quit Smoking - How To Make A Change

... trying to succeed by applying discipline and willpower. It starts you moving in the proper direction but then you get tired and fall back. Changing something about yourself is really not about changing. It is about "exchanging"- exchanging one way for another. How is this different? Changing requires ... 

Stop Smoking Tips: 3 Stop Smoking Remedies That Really Work

... difficult for many people is the withdrawal symptoms from nicotine. Nicotine is a powerful addictive substance and when you begin pulling away from it, you may experience extreme irritability, as well as, cravings. Many people turn to stop smoking aids to avoid the unpleasant side effects of quitting. ...