First, some anecdotal evidence. When I was a child I was around cigarette smoke a lot for various reasons. It always bothered me. Made me cough, eyes water, stuffy nose the following day, and a variety of other symptoms. When I was in my late teens I started smoking and I noticed that I didn’t have any of these symptoms when I was in a club…well as long as I smoked while I was there. This convinced me that smoking prevented my smoking allergies. Teen rationalization, right? Not according to this study which says smoking decreases the reactions of immune cells to allergens. Well for mice anyways, but the theory is it would work in humans.
Now the question you’ve got to ask yourself is….is it worth the chance of lung cancer and other cardio pulmonary disease possibilities? As a teen I was like, whatever dude bring on the party. Now I can’t believe how stupid I was. Yes, I quit smoking. Yes, I know it is overall bad for me and my asthma. Still kind of interesting, don’t you think?
Are you a smoker with allergies? Have you noticed that your allergy symptoms are reduced when you are smoking on a regular basis or did your allergy symptoms get worse when you quit smoking?
Photo Credit: Casey J
Wed, Jul 22, 2009
Allergy Symptoms