Diabetes and Cigars

[Gipper76]

Do we have any diabetics here who smoke? I have a friend who is interested in cigars and wants to start smoking them but he is a diabetic so I'm concerned if it will affect his health in anyway. Does anyone here have diabetes or may know what, if any, complications can follow?

Jason

 

[yenwen]

do diabetics smoke cigarettes?

 

[hoshnasi]

Do we have any diabetics here who smoke? I have a friend who is interested in cigars and wants to start smoking them but he is a diabetic so I'm concerned if it will affect his health in anyway. Does anyone here have diabetes or may know what, if any, complications can follow?

Jason

I know tabacco can thin the blood, but thats when alot of niccotine is injested. It would depend on how severe the diabetis is.

**EDIT** To say I'm no doctor, I just now diabetics who smoked cigarettes and we know cigars are less impact

 

[Dave]

Smoking cigars are not the epitome of good health. Why compound one systemic problem with another?

 

[QuePsiPhiSmkr]

Cigars and cigarettes can cause vasoconstriction on the tiny vessels in the lower extremities as well as the heart. Coupled with the calcification of the arteries due to diabetes, the combination of the two can be detrimental to circulation of the lower extremities. I do alot of limb salvage and diabetes and smoking do not mix. The choice of indulging in one of the finer things in life is a personal choice..

 

[The Volusianator]

I'm diabetic.

 

[sack]

I'm no medical expert but i did mention to my personal physician that i smoke at the most two cigars a day, i guess i should also mention that i take pills for my diabetes. According to my md there is no overwhelming problem. Talk to your physician, that's the best advice i can give.

 

[Gipper76]

Wade, does your endo know you smoke cigars? If so, has he said anything about it?

 

[The Volusianator]

All that was said was that smoking in general is not a good idea. Of course we both chuckled because my Dr's a smoker too. He did say that if I was going to smoke, at least with cigars there's no inhalation, so that's a positive in a negative subject. He didn't try to persuade me to quit, just wanted me to be aware of the dangers of smoking, but didn't really get too involved into complications because of Diabetes.

 

[Gipper76]

All that was said was that smoking in general is not a good idea. Of course we both chuckled because my Dr's a smoker too. He did say that if I was going to smoke, at least with cigars there's no inhalation, so that's a positive in a negative subject. He didn't try to persuade me to quit, just wanted me to be aware of the dangers of smoking, but didn't really get too involved into complications because of Diabetes.

Well, that's good then. We all know the risks of smoking in general but I was just concerned about it with Diabetes. I appreciate the help from all of you.

 

[hdroadking]

i've been a diabetic for over 20 years and smoked cigars just as long. never had any indication that they were of any great consequence. in fact, while i have been turned down for life insurance because of the diabetes, none of the tests have ever shown any nicotine in my system. i usually tried to lay off for 2-3 days before the blood test, but that's all. just my two cents.

 

[Devil Doc]

I'm pretty sure, nothing that's fun is good for a diabetic. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor. I would think, that since circulation could be a problem with diabetics, they should avoid nicotine.

Doc.

 

[Gipper76]

I'm pretty sure, nothing that's fun is good for a diabetic. Nicotine is a vasoconstrictor. I would think, that since circulation could be a problem with diabetics, they should avoid nicotine.

Doc.

I read somewhere that nicotine reduces insulin absorption by 20%. I don't know if that's true or not, but that can't be good.

 

[Shibumi]

I'm diabetic.

All that was said was that smoking in general is not a good idea. Of course we both chuckled because my Dr's a smoker too. He did say that if I was going to smoke, at least with cigars there's no inhalation, so that's a positive in a negative subject. He didn't try to persuade me to quit, just wanted me to be aware of the dangers of smoking, but didn't really get too involved into complications because of Diabetes.

Ditto for me on both accounts. Except my doctor doesn't smoke. He'd rather see me smoke cigars than cigarettes.

 

[opusXmarco]

I'm diabetic, type 2. My doctor knows I smoke cigars, never said I couldn't.

I guess it depends on what type of diabetes...

 

[sack]

I'm diabetic, type 2. My doctor knows I smoke cigars, never said I couldn't.

I guess it depends on what type of diabetes...

What worse? Type one or two, never got that straight. ???

 

[Gipper76]

I'm diabetic, type 2. My doctor knows I smoke cigars, never said I couldn't.

I guess it depends on what type of diabetes...

What worse? Type one or two, never got that straight. ???

Type 1 (like myself) requires that we inject ourselves with insulin to survive. It means that our pancreas (the organ that produces natural insulin) has completely shutdown.

Type 2 on the other hand is less severe because it means the pancreas is still producing some insulin and can be handled by taking pills or just by simply eating healthy and exercising daily. Both, however, are a pain in the ass (no pun intended for those diabetics who understand).

 

[Shibumi]

Sorry, I never take it in the ass! (no pun intended for those who understand. )

 

[ulster]

Okay, time for the exercise physiologist to chime in on this. This is information from current research journals....

"Smoking dramatically increases the rate of absorption of the ß agonist terbutaline and decreases subcutaneous absorption of insulin, increasing dosage requirements. Smoking also acutely impairs insulin action leading to insulin resistance." Using inhaled insulin compared to subcutaneous injections increases the amount of insulin abortion in smokers. Keep in mind, the study was done on "inhaled tobacco" and most likely not cigars.

A major concern with diabetics is hypertension - nicotine is a hypertensive and could add to the cardiovascular complications. Blood pressure above 140/90 is at higher risk. A secondary complication is hyperlidemia (too much fat) - nicotine increases the amount of free fatty acids in blood stream - again leading to enhanced cardiovascular risk. Again, keep in mind that enhanced blood nicotine levels are associated with inhaled tobacco (primarily cigarettes).

The insulin sensitivity to nicotine is primarily acute, meaning that taking insulin immediately before or immediately after having nicotine may not be the best thing for you if you are insulin dependent.

Nicotine tends to effect Type II diabetics stronger than Type I - couldn't tell you why.

....and finally, there are limited to no research studies on cigar use and human health so we need to take all these studies with a grain of salt. How much we smoke, what we smoke, and how we smoke play the largest roles. Fact is it is smoking is not a health enhancing habit, but limited cigar smoking (usually determined as up to two cigars per day in most research studies) shows very limited to non-statistically measurable deficits in health. Health effects are show with a higher number of cigars smoked per day (4 or more usually).

Hope this helps some.

 

[Gipper76]

Okay, time for the exercise physiologist to chime in on this. This is information from current research journals....

"Smoking dramatically increases the rate of absorption of the ß agonist terbutaline and decreases subcutaneous absorption of insulin, increasing dosage requirements. Smoking also acutely impairs insulin action leading to insulin resistance." Using inhaled insulin compared to subcutaneous injections increases the amount of insulin abortion in smokers. Keep in mind, the study was done on "inhaled tobacco" and most likely not cigars.

A major concern with diabetics is hypertension - nicotine is a hypertensive and could add to the cardiovascular complications. Blood pressure above 140/90 is at higher risk. A secondary complication is hyperlidemia (too much fat) - nicotine increases the amount of free fatty acids in blood stream - again leading to enhanced cardiovascular risk. Again, keep in mind that enhanced blood nicotine levels are associated with inhaled tobacco (primarily cigarettes).

The insulin sensitivity to nicotine is primarily acute, meaning that taking insulin immediately before or immediately after having nicotine may not be the best thing for you if you are insulin dependent.

Nicotine tends to effect Type II diabetics stronger than Type I - couldn't tell you why.

....and finally, there are limited to no research studies on cigar use and human health so we need to take all these studies with a grain of salt. How much we smoke, what we smoke, and how we smoke play the largest roles. Fact is it is smoking is not a health enhancing habit, but limited cigar smoking (usually determined as up to two cigars per day in most research studies) shows very limited to non-statistically measurable deficits in health. Health effects are show with a higher number of cigars smoked per day (4 or more usually).

Hope this helps some.

Very interesting Ulster. Thanks for the facts. I'd like to find out why Nicotine tends to affect Type 2's more then Type 1's. I'm curious because Type 1's generally have a weaker body (meaning their immune system) so I just want to find out why.