Smoking: does it help or hurt UC?

@s1d934 Hello s1d934, thank you for starting this discussion. Let me tag some member who can maybe weigh in on this topic.

Hello everyone, how are you doing today? Have you heard anything about the impact of cigarette smoking on ulcerative colitis? Does it help it or hurt it? Are you a current or former smoker yourself? Feel free to share your thoughts with us here!
@robinbobinlobin‍ @LouisR‍ @StevenShapiro078‍ @tmc427‍ @lcerracchio‍ @Kvandermattson‍ @HadEnough‍ @Mnholloman84‍ @Neicey‍ @Mommy2lyssa‍ @Bnoland73‍ @KarenGrace‍ @rapperson1‍ @JaclynEP‍ 

Take care,
Courtney

@s1d934 @Courtney_J I was a smoker when I was younger & within a few months of quitting, I was diagnosed with UC. My doctor at the time commented that there was an (unsubstantiated) article in The Lancet saying that there were suggestions that nicotine could keep UC symptoms at bay. He was not suggesting I smoke again, it was more of a fly away comment. It's interesting, isn't it?

@s1d934 I started showing symptoms of UC about one month after giving up smoking. Maybe coincidental, I dont know. Interesting though.

@s1d934 @ulc1231 @blvngiseasy Wow this is very interesting to me. I think at one point my doc mentioned to me once too that research was showing that the reverse was true for Crohn's. That it really irritates it and can even make one more likely to develop it. I smoked when I was younger too and now that I think about it I think I was diagnosed not long after I quit...