It isn’t any secret that smoking isn’t good for anyone’s health, but for a person with diabetes, smoking can exacerbate health problems that they already deal with.

Did you know that smoking reduces the amount of oxygen that reaches your tissues. This decrease in oxygen increases your risk of a stroke, something that a person with diabetes is already more likely to suffer with. 

Smoking also increases your cholesterol levels raising your risk of having a heart attack.  If you have diabetes, you are already at risk for heart disease, so why raise the odds even more by smoking?

Because foot health is so important to diabetics, the fact that smoking damages and constricts blood vessels is a good reason to quit. Constricted blood vessels can make foot ulcers and sores worse, leading to infections.

Studies show that when diabetics smoke, they increase their risk for nerve damage.  Nerves aren’t the only thing to suffer. Smokers tend to be more at risk for kidney disease, something a person with diabetes does not want to face.

People that smoke are more susceptible to colds and respiratory infections and diseases.  Fighting constant colds while trying to control diabetes is not fun.

Smoking actually raises blood sugar levels. Since a person with diabetes goes to great lengths to control their blood sugar levels, it makes little sense to undermine all of your hard work by smoking a cigarette. Even taking medication can’t undo all of the damage that smoking does to your blood sugar levels.

Smoking also has been known to limit joint mobility.  When you have diabetes, you are already at an increased risk of losing the mobility of your joints, especially those in your hands.  Smoking just raises that risk to even higher numbers.

If you have diabetes, you are twice as likely to develop high blood pressure as a person that does not have diabetes. Left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to deadly heart disease and stroke. In fact, a person with diabetes and high blood pressure is four times as likely to develop heart disease as someone who does not have either of the conditions. Smoking is known to increase blood pressure, something a diabetic should avoid.

Studies show that having diabetes can increase your risk for certain kinds of cancer.  Smoking is known to increase your risk of cancer of the mouth, throat, lung, and even the bladder.

Men with diabetes are at a much higher risk of impotence, especially if the diabetes is not well controlled. Smoking can also cause impotence. When you mix diabetes and smoking the chances of developing impotence increases.

Smoking is unhealthy, even when you don’t have diabetes, but when you are a diabetic, smoking can increase your risk of developing life threatening conditions.