Smoking affects your overall health, especially your digestive system. Smoking harms all parts of human digestive system, causing various disorders like heartburn and peptic ulcers. Here are various health problems related to the digestive system caused by smoking.
Heartburn
Heartburn is a symptom of a syndrome – gastroesophageal reflux (GER). This syndrome occurs when the acidic juices in stomach flow backwards into esophagus – the tube connecting mouth
to stomach. Your esophagus does not have the natural protection your stomach has.
Lower esophageal sphincter (LES), a muscular valve at the lower end of the esophagus, keeps the acidic juices in the stomach and not allows getting into the esophagus. Smoking weakens the LES, and allows stomach acid to flow into the esophagus. This in turn injures or damages the espohagus.
Peptic Ulcer
A peptic ulcer is a sore on the lining of the stomach or duodenum, which is the beginning of the small intestine. Peptic ulcers are caused by bacterial infections, long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents like aspirin and ibuprofen and cancerous tumors in the stomach or pancreas.
Research shows that smokers are more at the risk of peptic ulcer. If anyone with an ulcer keeps smoking, their ulcer may not heal or may take more time to heal. People have better chances of healing the ulcer if they stop smoking.
Liver Disease
The liver is an important organ that processes drugs, alcohol and other toxins, and removes them from the body. Research studies show that smoking decreases the liver’s ability to process such substances. In some cases, if smoking damages the liver, it also affects the dose of medication needed to treat an illness.
Crohn’s Disease
Crohn’s disease causes swelling deep in the lining of the intestine, and also causes pain and diarrhea. Research shows that smokers are at a higher risk of Crohn’s disease than nonsmokers. Smokers with Crohn’s disease are at a higher risk of relapse, repeat surgery, and need for drug therapy. Smoking can also lower the intestines defenses, decrease blood flow to intestines, or cause immune system changes that result in inflammation.
Gallstones
Several studies show that smoking may increase the risk of developing gallstones. However, research results on this topic are not consistent, and more study is needed.
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