- Health Risks of Smoking -
Facts about the Complications of Diabetes and Smoking Effects on the Body

The health risks of smoking are very similar to the complications of diabetes.

The smoking facts reveal that diseases caused by smoking such as atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, peripheral artery disease, and CVA stroke, are also possible complications of diabetes.

Diabetes has three main complications that affect the brain (stroke), the heart, and the kidneys.

These three organs are also vulnerable to the harmful effects of smoking.

Diseases Causes by Smoking	Complications of Diabetes
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease leading to heart attack is one of the main diseases caused by smoking and one of the complications of Diabetes.
Smokers have a 70% increased risk of dying from heart disease that non-smokers. See the Smoking Facts on Heart Disease for more information about harmful effects of smoking on the heart.	The National Diabetes Information Clearing House states that diabetes doubles your risk of developing heart disease. If you have type 2 diabetes your risk of having a heart attack is similar as the risk of a second heart attack in a person who has already had one!
Cerebral atherosclerosis is a one of the health risks of smoking that can damage the brain and lead to CVA or stroke.
One of the harmful effects of smoking on your brain is cerebral atherosclerosis disease. It causes hardening of the arteries in the brain and can result in a stroke. The Canadian Heart and Stroke foundations says: "Smoking contributes to more than 37,000 deaths a year in Canada, of which almost 11,000 are heart disease and stroke-related (29% of all smoking-related deaths are heart disease and stroke-related)." Cigarette smoking is one of the major causes of strokes, which have roughly a 30% fatality rate.	Diabetes itself is a risk factor for having a stroke. Diabetes raises your risk of having increased cholesterol levels and hardening of the arteries leading to a CVA or stroke.
Kidney Disease
Smoking is one of the most significant risk factor leading to end stage renal disease or kidney failure. Cancer of the kidney also occurs at a higher rate among smokers than non smokers.	Diabetes is the most common cause of kidney failure. The ability of the kidney to filter the blood will almost always become less efficient over time and within ten years of the diagnosis almost all people diagnosed with diabetes will show a change in kidney function. For some people this progresses to chronic kidney disease.

The kidneys, the heart, and the brain are pretty important organs. Humans function best if they all work well.

Both the complications of diabetes and health risks of smoking leave these organs vulnerable to disease and total failure.

But the harmful effects of smoking, just like the complications of diabetes do not stop there.

Peripheral Artery Disease

Smoking is the main risk factor for peripheral artery disease or PAD.

Your risk of developing obstruction in the blood vessels that supply blood to your feet and your hands is about 16 times higher than a non-smoker.

Diabetes is also listed as a risk factor for PAD. This condition is one of the most common reasons for amputation.

Reduced Resistance to Infection

Diabetics and smokers are both more vulnerable to infection because of weakened immune system functions.

Erectile Dysfunction

Atherosclerosis disease can make it difficult for some men who are smokers to get and keep an erection.

Diabetics are more prone to atherosclerosis disease as well. In addition one of the complications of diabetes is nerve damage. This can also be a cause of impotence in men who have had diabetes for some time.

If you are a man with diabetes and you also smoke you have two major risk factors that might make getting an erection more and more difficult as time goes on.

There are so many similarities between the health risks of smoking and the complications of diabetes it is astounding.

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