Smoking
Smoking causes many health problems including heart disease, strokes and cancer.
Smoking may also lead to a worsening of gum conditions and dry mouth associated with
hepatitis C. There is some evidence that suggests higher rates of particular cancer types
among smokers if they are also hepatitis C positive.
Smoking marijuana on a daily basis has also been significantly associated with the progression
of fibrosis in people with hepatitis C.1
Should I stop smoking?
If you have hepatitis C, try to give up smoking because research shows that it can increase the
progression of liver disease. Smoking also increases the risk of heart disease, and women who
smoke experience menopause on average five years earlier than women who don’t.
People with hepatitis C are advised to reduce or abstain from regular marijuana use. If you
smoke, try to cut down or give up completely. You will feel the benefits of quitting straight
away as your body repairs itself.
Depending on the number of cigarettes you smoke, typical benefits of stopping are:
- after 12 hours almost all of the nicotine is out of your system;
- after 24 hours the level of carbon monoxide in your blood has dropped dramatically.
You now have more oxygen in your bloodstream;
- after five days most nicotine by-products have gone;
- within days your sense of taste and smell improves;
- within a month your blood pressure returns to its normal level and your immune system
begins to show signs of recovery;
- within two months your lungs will no longer be producing extra phlegm caused by smoking;
after 12 months your increased risk of dying from heart disease is half that of a
continuing smoker;
- stopping smoking reduces the incidence and progression of lung disease including
chronic bronchitis and emphysema;
- after 10 years of stopping your risk of lung cancer is less than half that of a continuing
smoker and continues to decline (provided the disease is not already present); and
- after 15 years your risk of heart attack and stroke is almost the same as that of a person
who has never smoked.
Stopping smoking has major and immediate health benefits for men and women of all ages.
Quitting smoking can be difficult. Prepare yourself and plan strategies to cope with the physical
or psychological symptoms that you might experience.
For many people it takes more than one attempt to quit—don’t give up trying just because you
lapse and have a cigarette. The National QUIT line on 131 848 can help you plan a quit attempt
and support you while you give up. Talk to your GP or pharmacist about other treatments that
can help you to stop smoking (such as nicotine replacement therapy).
http://www.hepatitisaustralia.com/about_hepatitis/drugs.html
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