Smoking and MS is an important topic worth understanding. The relationship between the two is pretty significant — and not in a good way. Smoking is one of the few MS risk factors that can actually be changed, which means there's real power in addressing it.
Here's how smoking can affect MS:
- Higher risk of developing MS Show Full Answer
Smoking and MS is an important topic worth understanding. The relationship between the two is pretty significant — and not in a good way. Smoking is one of the few MS risk factors that can actually be changed, which means there's real power in addressing it.
Here's how smoking can affect MS:
- Higher risk of developing MS — Smokers are nearly twice as likely to develop MS compared to non-smokers
- Faster disease progression — Smoking is linked to moving from milder forms of MS to more aggressive types more quickly
- More lesions and brain damage — Smokers with MS tend to have greater nerve damage than non-smokers
- Worse symptoms — Symptoms can become more severe immediately after smoking
- More frequent relapses — Smoking is associated with a greater number of flares
- Reduced treatment effectiveness — Smoking can interfere with certain MS medications, including Avonex, Rebif, Plegridy, and Tysabri The good news? Quitting smoking can make a real difference. Former smokers have the same MS progression risk as people who have never smoked. Each smoke-free year also reduces the risk of progressing to greater disability.
As one MyMSTeam member shared, quitting was a long, hard road — but it helped them rehabilitate from MS, and they've been 95% ambulatory since 1996. Another member said simply, "I love myself more than I loved smoking, so I quit cold turkey."
If quitting feels overwhelming, talking to a doctor about cessation support options is a great first step.
August 23
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