Smoking & Diabetes: Understanding the Connection and Risk

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 21% of U.S. adults smoked cigarettes in 2008. The American Diabetes Association reports that about 8% of U.S. adults were diabetics in 2007.

Smoking Cessation and Diabetes Risk

• According to a study published in the "Annals of Internal Medicine," quitting smoking raises the risk of type 2 diabetes. The higher risk is caused by weight gain after giving up cigarettes. However, the risk was highest within 3 years after quitting and declined to no risk after 10 years.

Cardiovascular Risk

• Diabetics who smoke cigarettes carry eleven times the risk for having a stroke or heart attack as people who don't smoke or have diabetes.

Insulin

• Cigarette smoking makes it harder for the body's cells to use insulin, the chemical that lowers blood sugar after a meal.

Circulation

• Diabetic smokers have twice the risk of circulatory problems such as nerve damage, infection and slow-healing sores.

Dental and Kidney Disease

• Being a smoker and a diabetic increases the risk of kidney and dental disease.