If you smoke, you are more likely than a nonsmoker to get an ulcer. The longer you smoke, and the more cigarettes you smoke, the higher your chances of getting an ulcer. About one-fifth of all ulcers are due to smoking. (1)
just the facts
About 10% of all people will have an ulcer at some time in their lives.
Sources 1. Anda RF, Williamson DF, Escobedo LG, Remington PL. Smoking and the risk of peptic ulcer disease among women in the United States. Archives of Internal Medicine 1990;150:1437-1441.
definition
An ulcer is an open sore, either in the stomach or in the top part of the small intestine. Ulcers hurt, and if they get very bad, they can cause bleeding inside the digestive system -- a serious problem. About 10% of all people will have an ulcer at some time in their lives. Ulcers happen mostly in adults, rather than children or teenagers.
A bacterium called Helicobacter pylori plays an important role in causing ulcers, but other factors are involved, too. Smoking is one of the most important of those other factors.
explanation
Scientists believe that smoking increases the risk of ulcers in several ways. Smoking interferes with the mechanisms that usually protect the lining of the stomach and intestine, increases the production of a substance called pepsin that makes ulcers worse, and allows the contents of the small intestine to move back into the stomach, where they can irritate the stomach lining. Smokers are also more susceptible than nonsmokers to the bacterium that causes ulcers.
Doctors have very effective medicines to treat ulcers. But unfortunately, if you smoke, ulcer medicines may not work as well as they should. It's more difficult for doctors to treat ulcers in smokers than in nonsmokers. Smoking also increases the chances that an ulcer will come back after it has been treated.
