diagnosed with diabetes type 1 but can't give up smoking

rogers · Newbie Joined: 18 Feb 2005 Posts: 6

Hi, I have been diagnosed with diabetes type 1 three months ago. My doctor talked to me about life changes I have to make because of my health condition. One of the things he mentioned is that I have to stop smoking. I am having serious trouble with this. I just can't give up smoking. Could you tell me why is it so important to quit smoking when you have type 1 diabetes?

harald · Newbie Joined: 15 Oct 2004 Posts: 14

Hi, smoking is a very harmful habit, even when you are healthy, but especially if you have some kind of medical problem. Diabetes type one is a serious health condition. It seems that you have not yet understood just what having this illness means. Your body is not able to produce insulin. This is a very important molecule that helps us turn sugar from our food into energy. You will have to get artificial insulin shots for the rest of your life. Diabetes can cause many complications. Heart and kidney diseases are some of these complications that are much more common in diabetes patients who smoke. So I would say that by continuing to smoke you are actually shortening your life. But there are also some studies that actually show that people with diabetes find it harder to quit smoking than the rest of us. You should talk to your physician about your problems with giving up cigarettes. He will be able to refer you to a therapist that will help you with your problem.

diagnosed with diabetes type 1 but can't give up smoking

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