Smoking and IBS - Does Smoking Make IBS Worse? Is Tobacco an IBS Trigger?

• Yep - just like alcohol and caffeine, tobacco is a drug that hits extra hard if you have IBS.
  
  
• Tobacco - whether smoked or chewed - is a powerful GI tract stimulant, irritant, and carcinogen.
  
  
• Tobacco irritates the intestinal lining, causing diarrhea, cramps, bloating, and gas.
  
  
• Nicotine can also cause nausea and stomach cramps.
  
  
• Smoking decreases the efficiency of food digestion, causing altered bowel movements.
  
  
• Nicotine withdrawal can cause both constipation AND diarrhea.
  
  
• Extra air swallowed during smoking can cause belching, bloating, and gas.
  
  
• Nutshell? Tobacco is one of the worst triggers for ALL IBS symptoms.
  
  
• Tobacco also has harmful physical effects on virtually the entire GI tract.
  
  
• Smoking causes heartburn and reflux, two conditions folks with IBS are already prone to.
  
  
• Smoking doubles your chance of developing a peptic ulcer.
  
  
• Smoking is thought to increase the risk of Crohn's disease, and lead to gallstones.
  
  
• Nicotine - a poison - weakens the lower esophageal sphincter.
  
  
• Cigarette smoke has over 400 toxins and 43 carcinogens, all of which can affect your GI tract.
  
  
• Insult & Injury: Tobacco increases the risk of all cancers of the digestive tract.
  
  

Tip Takeaway: The GI side effects of tobacco are immediate and violent. Smoking triggers every possible IBS symptom: pain, spasms, constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas, nausea. If you needed yet another reason to quit smoking, you've got one.

See all IBS Quick Tips!