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How bad is smoking for a Type 2 diabetic?

S

Sumitrathapa

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Smokers are 30 to 40 percent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than nonsmokers. Smoking can also make managing the disease and regulating insulin levels more difficult because high levels of nicotine can lessen the effectiveness of insulin, I want to discuss here how bad is smoking for a Type 2 diabetic?
 
Smoking is bad for everyone. What research can you link to about smoking and insulin please?
 

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.
Do you smoke yourself & wishing to give up?
 
Most diabetics (all types) apparently die of cardiovascular disease of some kind. Conversely large scale studies of those who had had heart attacks found that the overwhelming majority were diabetic or prediabetic.
Atherosclerosis is pathological damage to the artery lining. There are disagreements about why this happens to diabetics in particular but no disagreement that smoking causes damage to the arteries too therefore being a smoking diabetic is extra risky.
Its an especial risk because raised glucose levels (type 1 and type 2) cause cellular damage to the lining of the arteries (glycation and oxidation) then, more controversially, excess insulin that contributes to excess inflammation which is one of the hallmarks of cardiovascular disease.
Others believe that high ldl cholesterol causes heart disease and therefore advise reduction of ldl cholesterol. via statins and diet. The connection with type 2 diabetics here is that high ldl (and low hdl) is common too.
It has also been found in various studies around 2010 that just reducing your blood glucose alone with medications alone won't stop heart disease in type 2s which suggests that it is the combination of excess insulin and high glucose that causes issues. So if you get your insulin and blood glucose levels down via diet, you do reduce your risk.
I never got hooked on cigarettes luckily, except the chocolate ones, so provided a type 2 doesn't substitute biscuits/sweets for cigarettes it makes sense to give up.
 
I would expect that smoking is particularly bad for a T2 diabetic, because of the effect on blood vessels and blood circulation. As someone who struggles greatly with my weight, it has crossed my mind at times that smoking might be the lesser evil, and if I could just live off cigars and coffee, I might be better off. Alas, I'm sure this wouldn't work: I have had heart trouble after T2 diagnosis, and pretty much the only blessing I have is clean lungs from not smoking (I quit cigarettes in my early twenties). Everything else I have- bad circulation, neuropathy, stenosis, high blood pressure- it would have all been exacerbated by smoking, particularly cigarettes. To be fair, I'd probably still rather have a cigar than a bowl of oatmeal, but if you can give up smoking, I'd say it would be a worthwhile sacrifice for your health.
 
I’m type one and smoked for years , I had a heart attack at 49 years of age , I had a stent fitted and was told by the person who fitted it “ stop smoking and I’ll never see you again” , I firmly believe that my poor lifestyle ( smoking drinking too much ) plus my poor diabetic control have lead to all my complications , I don’t think ’ smoking is good for anyone but I do know it his a hard habit to kick , I did it with electronic fags eventually
 
I recently had a Femoral/popliteal artery bypass done. of the 28 people on the vascular wards, 3 of us were smokers.
But every last one was Diabetic. Having smoked for over 45 years i find it near impossible to give up.
 
i use Nicorett icy white gum 4mg started on 35 cut down to average of 15.5 a day (mx recommended is 15 but that wasn't enough) still have 1.5 kg of tobacco but smoke free told me to throw it but its worth nearly £800 so won't chuck it!
My weight has increased as lost will power but I went from 77kg to 93 in 7 months. Now on metfomin and take lots of herbal meds to lower cholesterol turmeric cinnamon ginger garlic fenugreek Omega 3 etc
I have the added complication of PKU Phenylketonuria o diet is a struggle having low carbs and protein but I get supplements with PHe free protein.
Am getting back into it now and hope to get beter with practice. Been diabetic for nearly 2 yrs diagnosed in sept 2020 but had above normal HbA1c for longer.
Incidentally normal blood glucose is below 39 not 42 something a Dr. won't tell you as the NHS programmes them to the highr levels to save money. In some people the complications can start as low as 35 mmol/mol. Something else they keep quiet about. There are more people with prediabetes that don't know they have it as many older people are at that level with ageing. But the NHS spends 10% on those it calls diabetic but truly prediabetes is more prevelent than they will admit. Conspiracy to save money!
 
smoking destroys small blood vessels and high blood sugar also destroys small blood vessels. So if someone is smoking its already damaging heart blood vessels and other small blood vessels with DM its 2x the damage. Just my own take i am sure there are researchs out there
 
I think that people like to blame health conditions on diabetes, hence why complications on normal levels. but it does not explain why other people who are non diabetic. correlation is not always the causation.
 
Well I am on the fence with this one... I gave up nearly 15 years ago - was as skinny as a bean 60 a day girl when I smoked for 22 years. No hint of Diabetes, no high blood pressure (my notes tell me). Yet I gave up, pilled about 5 stone on, lost the 5 stone and gained more. Now 15 years on I have type 2. I don't know if its due to giving up cigs or my age, where I live, genetics or just that life got in the way who knows or the fact that I lived by the "fat is bad" mantra. I lived by low fat this and that pasta, brown bread etc was healthy etc and yet here I am. One thing I do know is that I don't miss cigs and I am the worse ex smoker there could ever be, I hate everything about cigs now.
 
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