Did you know that smoking can lead to Type 2 diabetes?

Smoking can lead to diabetes, and then cause more complications from the disease. So writes Dr. Laura B. Hieronymus, associate director of education and quality
services at the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes Center at the
University of Kentucky, in a column in the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Laura Hieronymus

Smoking can cause resistance to insulin, which helps control levels of sugar in the blood. “Insulin resistance can occur if you have a family history of it, are overweight and/or have a sedentary lifestyle,” Hieronymus writes. “Experts report smokers are insulin resistant and the more you smoke, the
greater your chances of Type 2 diabetes. Data suggest if you smoke 16
to 25 cigarettes a day, your risk for Type 2 diabetes is three times
higher than if you don’t smoke. In contrast, if you quit smoking and
stay quit, your risk for Type 2 diabetes actually decreases.”

If you have diabetes, smoking can make complications from it more likely, Hieronymus writes: “Damage to the blood vessels and nerves in your body is more common
and often to a greater degree than if you have diabetes and don’t smoke.
The heavier and the longer you smoke the greater your risk for
complications. The bottom line is that smoking and diabetes are a
dangerous combination. The good news is that by quitting smoking and
keeping your blood glucose optimally controlled, you can greatly lower
your chances for diabetes complications.”