It is a well known fact that smoking is hazardous to health. So can rheumatologists smoke? Or does smoking have any harm to rheumatism patients? Sun Erwei, Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Southern Medical University Smoking is the act of the human body inhaling the gas produced when burning tobacco through the mouth, which is an unhealthy habit. It has a history of several hundred years since Columbus discovered the New World. The harm of smoking is not only harmful to human health, but also has a negative impact on society. The Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Xinxiang Central Hospital, Henan Province, China Caiyue Bian So how is smoking harmful to the health of the body? That starts with what’s in tobacco. The chemicals released when a cigarette is lit vary from cigarette to cigarette, but they are mainly chemicals such as tar and carbon monoxide. Cigarettes ignited to produce substances harmful to the human body can be broadly divided into six categories: (1) aldehydes, nitrides, olefins, these substances have an irritating effect on the respiratory tract. (2) Nicotine, which stimulates sympathetic nerves and makes smokers dependent. (3) Amines, cyanide and heavy metals, which are toxic substances. (4) benzpyrene, arsenic, cadmium, methylhydrazine, aminophenol, and other radioactive substances. All these substances have carcinogenic effects. (5) Phenolic compounds and formaldehyde, etc. These substances have the effect of accelerating carcinogenesis. (6) Carbon monoxide can reduce the ability of red blood cells to transport oxygen throughout the body. These chemicals may not be understood and sound complicated, but these substances can actually cause a variety of diseases, such as: smoking leads to blood clots, leading to a variety of heart disease; smoking can lead to a variety of brain diseases such as paralysis, mental decline and stroke, smokers have a two-fold higher chance of stroke than non-smokers; the tar and heat of the smoke in cigarettes can lead to oral cancer, throat cancer; Smoking can lead to lung cancer; smoking can make gastrointestinal disease worse, nicotine will make the gastrointestinal mucosa of the blood vessels constriction, but also loss of appetite; smoking can also lead to osteoarthritis and back pain, most people with severe back pain have a great addiction to smoking, which is due to smoking will lead to a reduction in the flow of blood to the joints, the joints and thus early degeneration; smoking will also increase the burden on the liver, so that the liver’s detoxification capacity is reduced; smoking can also lead to colon cancer The chance of developing this cancer is directly proportional to the amount of tobacco smoked; not only that, smoking also has damage to the reproductive system, affecting sperm vitality and increasing the number of deformed sperm. After reading the above paragraph, I believe that we feel deeply, smoking is too harmful, but we have questions. Is smoking harmful to rheumatism? The above is not mentioned, is not smoking to rheumatism patients do not have a big impact. In fact, smoking has a great impact on rheumatism, and the harm of smoking is obvious to patients with rheumatism. Smoking can induce a variety of rheumatic immune diseases, for example, studies have found that smoking can affect a DNA sequence closely related to the development of rheumatoid arthritis, and smoking can greatly increase the risk of rheumatoid arthritis in humans. Researchers at Stanford University compared 1,095 Finnish patients previously diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis with 1,530 healthy adults. The results found that men with a history of previous smoking had twice the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis compared to men who had never smoked. British researchers found that patients with “systemic sclerosis” who smoked were 3-4 times more likely to have vascular complications in their fingers than nonsmokers, and in studying the effects of smoking on finger ischemia in patients with systemic sclerosis, they found that smoking is also a risk factor for vascular disease in healthy people, while patients with systemic sclerosis Smoking in patients with systemic sclerosis can lead to serious vascular complications in the fingers, including amputation and gangrene. Thus, we can find that smoking not only induces the occurrence of many rheumatic diseases, but also aggravates the condition of patients with rheumatic immune diseases; smoking has obvious harmful effects on many human systems, and thus will be detrimental to the treatment and recovery of patients with rheumatic diseases. Therefore, for the sake of your health, please cherish your life and stay away from cigarettes. Finally, we will give you a jingle to quit smoking. Cigarettes have a high tar content and are not without pathogenic substances. Wisps of green smoke lingering, air pollution indicators exceed. Pregnant women and children are very distressed, living like a “gas” bag. If you want your family to be happy and smile, first quit smoking.