Haven't you quit smoking? Well watch out for these medications

According to World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco represents the second cause of death in the world (after hypertension) but the first cause of avoidable death.

Also, enter tobacco and some medications interactions occur that many smokers do not know and that are aggravated if we add to this our insane habit of self-medicate.

When smoking we forget that what we introduce into our body is not just nicotine. Tobacco smoke is itself a mixture of more than 500 elements. In each draft we absorb a part of those components (benzopyrene, anthracene and phenanthrene among others) that arrive traveling by blood to our liver, just the preferred organ to metabolize many of the most prescribed medications. It goes without saying that you have to combine toxic and medications in the same place and at the same time it is not the healthiest of the options.

The nicotinealso has a vasoconstrictor effect which can delay the absorption of medications administered transcutaneously, which is especially delicate in the case of diabetic people They puncture insulin. In your case, tobacco can cause an increase in catecholamines that oppose the action of insulin. Therefore, the smoking diabetics they should inform their doctor of how much they smoke because it is recommended that they increase the dose of insulin that they have to inject in a percentage that depends on their tobacco consumption.

But there are many others tobacco interactions With the medications. It has been proven that it can modify the half-life, activity and efficacy of drugs such as theophylline (a medicine used against lung diseases such as asthma), blood thinners heparin and warfarin, the benzodiazepines (which are used as muscle relaxants and against anxiety), antidepressants from the family of tricyclics, the drugs against ulcer and the analgesics that pass through the liver, such as paracetamol, codeine or dextropropoxyphene.

Given this bad relationship, it is worth it if you take these medications and smoke, talk to your doctor to evaluate the possibility of adapting the dosage or the frequency of the shots.