Dr. Yulia Slasten, a gastroenterologist, confirms that smoking and alcohol consumption significantly increase the risk of gastritis. She adds that nicotine has a detrimental effect on local immunity.
She says: “Lack of exercise and unhealthy habits, including smoking and alcohol consumption, cause spasms in the blood vessels of the stomach, which impedes blood flow to the mucous membrane. The risk of developing chronic gastritis almost doubles in patients who smoke more than 10 cigarettes a day. Moreover, nicotine suppresses local immunity and hinders ulcer healing, preventing recovery even with drug therapy.”
The doctor points out that excessive alcohol consumption increases the risk of alcoholic gastropathy, a specific intestinal disorder. This refers to the toxic effect of ethanol and its metabolites on stomach tissue.
Dr. Natalia Trinogina points out that smoking and alcohol consumption can lead to stomach and intestinal cancer. However, many people don't consider gastritis, ulcers, and enteritis/colitis, even though they are all troublesome conditions.
According to her, the function of the digestive system depends primarily on what we eat and drink. This is obvious. But its condition is also affected by the substances we inhale, as well as the environmental conditions in the area where we live.
When a person smokes, instead of breathing fresh air, they inhale hot smoke filled with various harmful substances. It has been proven to contain more than 4,000 different chemical compounds, the most well-known being nicotine. Once in the body, nicotine takes control of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates digestive functions, bowel movements, and glandular secretions. This is why many smokers feel unable to defecate until after smoking a cigarette.
