Key takeaways
- Smoking can affect your thyroid health.
- Quitting smoking can temporarily affect thyroid function.
- Nicotine replacement therapy can help alleviate withdrawals.
- Iodine absorption may improve after quitting smoking.
- Consult a GP for personalized smoking cessation advice.
Ever noticed something off with your throat and brushed it off as a sore throat or nasal issue? It could actually be a sign of a thyroid problem.
Your thyroid is a small gland in your neck that plays a big role in your body’s hormone production. It helps balance your metabolism, energy levels, and body temperature.
So, when your thyroid’s not working properly, you’ll likely feel some noticeable changes in how your body functions.
For smokers, considering the impact of cigarettes on your thyroid can be life-saving. Studies show that chemicals in cigarettes can damage your body’s hormones, which your thyroid helps regulate.
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Over time, this disruption can lead to serious health issues, and these effects can linger even after you’ve quit. If you’ve been smoking for a while, it’s best to look into how smoking affects your thyroid and overall health, especially in the first few years.
Thyroid Problems After Quitting Smoking: An Explainer
Kicking the habit helps your body heal, but when it comes to your thyroid, it’s not that simple. Even after quitting, your thyroid may still be affected by the damage caused by cigarette chemicals.
Quitting doesn’t automatically fix it. The thyroid gland often goes through an adjustment period, similar to how your lungs react when the protective cilia start working again, making you cough as they clear out the smoke.
You might experience weight gain, fatigue, or mood swings due to hormonal imbalances as your thyroid tries to recover. These issues can also be linked to nicotine withdrawal during the first few weeks after quitting.
But don’t stress—if you’re determined, these thyroid issues are usually temporary.
Just make sure to keep an eye on your thyroid health, and if you notice persistent discomfort or worsening symptoms, don’t hesitate to consult your GP. Catching any thyroid problems early on ensures you’re in control of your health post-smoking.
Is Smoking Bad for Your Thyroid?
So, how exactly does smoking affect your thyroid? If you started smoking without any pre-existing thyroid issues, you might assume you’re in the clear, but that’s not always the case.
Over time, smoking pumps harmful chemicals into your body, which can disrupt the delicate balance of your thyroid and trigger various problems.
Poor Iodine Absorption
Most salt products used nowadays contain iodine, which is crucial for the thyroid to do its work properly, most especially in regulating hormone production.
Studies have shown that smoking has an adverse effect on iodine absorption in the body, which can lead to potential thyroid dysfunction.
Once you quit smoking, your iodine absorption rates will begin to improve.
While it might be slow and may have some temporary symptoms mentioned above, your thyroid’s improvement will help restore iodine balance in your body, potentially back into pre-smoking levels.
Slowed Nutrient Synthesis Process
The numerous dangerous chemicals in cigarette smoke will affect your stomach, oral health and cognitive ability, namely due to immediate negative effects. In the long run, these chemicals also deprive your body of its much-needed nutrients.
The chemicals in cigarette smoke interfere with the body’s ability to absorb Vitamin C and B-complex.
Studies have also shown that cadmium in cigarette smoke (used in batteries) dissolves selenium, which is an essential nutrient for thyroid function and is found in seafood and meat.
A motivated smoker going through a quit journey restores their body’s nutrient synthesis and selenium levels. Furthermore, quitting smoking restores regular nutrient absorption from carbohydrates, proteins, and even fat.
Increased Salt Excretion from Kidneys
Smoking is linked to various severe kidney diseases, with chemicals from cigarette smoke being the primary factor in various chronic kidney diseases.
Due to a duller sense of taste and smell, the thyroid needing more iodine to balance hormones properly, and the link between smoking and alcohol, regular smokers usually have a higher preference for salty food.
This can lead to renal problems over time due to excessive salt excretion by the kidneys.
Excessive salt intake can lead to kidney stones, which are accumulated proteins that form solid deposits and are extremely painful and difficult to remove.
While it doesn’t affect the thyroid directly, it goes to show how the gland handles iodine deprivation caused by smoking, triggering a severe condition in your kidneys.
Enlargement (Autoimmune Thyroid Disease)
Iodine deprivation caused by smoking and the chemicals in cigarette smoke can cause thyroid gland enlargement in two ways.
To compensate for iodine deficiency, the gland will enlarge in an attempt to balance the body’s hormone production (goiter). This is known as Grave’s Disease.
Another autoimmune thyroid disease caused by smoking is Hashimoto’s Disease, which causes the immune system to target the thyroid mistakenly and cause swelling. Smoking has been associated with an increased risk of developing Hashimoto’s disease.
It’s Easier to Stop Smoking Today
As always, prevention is the best cure for almost anything – and that means stopping smoking will keep your lungs in good shape and avoid thyroid issues once you get older.
Here are some helpful steps you can take to stop smoking for good.
Go Through First-Line Solutions First
Some motivated smokers can handle cold turkey just fine and see success within a few tries, but oftentimes, smokers have strong withdrawals that can draw them back to lighting a stick.
That’s where nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products come in. These are readily available and stocked at your local pharmacy.
NRT products are the most trusted quitting option available for motivated smokers. They might not imitate cigarettes, but they contain a small dose of nicotine that may be enough to alleviate your withdrawals. These come in the form of patches and gums for easy and convenient nicotine delivery.
While NRTs can be effective, they don’t work for everyone. If these haven’t done the trick for you, you may be eligible for a nicotine prescription to use nicotine vaping products (NVPs).
Chat to a GP
As mentioned, NRT products have worked for many successful ex-smokers. But, you might have ingrained behaviours and triggers that only something that mimics a cigarette can successfully address, such as the hand-to-mouth motion, and needing something to use while having a drink with friends.
That is where NVPs become very handy in helping you fight the urge to consume tobacco.
You need a nicotine prescription before you can purchase NVPs, so you’ll need to consult with a GP to help you on your smoking cessation journey.
And, if your GP deems it necessary, they can write you a nicotine prescription for NVPs.
You can chat to your usual GP more about this.
Visit Your Local Pharmacy
Once you have your nicotine prescription, you can pop down to your local pharmacy. Over 2,200 pharmacies across Australia hold these products in-store, but any pharmacy can order these in for you if they don’t currently stock them.
Both your pharmacist and GP can advise you on how best to use the product, such as the initial setup, and the number of puffs to take when you feel withdrawals.
Prevention Is the Cure for Thyroid Problems
Thyroid problems are an unnecessary health issue that is easily prevented by stopping smoking. And, if you’re concerned about your thyroid after quitting smoking, know that these discomforts are only temporary – once your thyroid recovers, you’ll live a better and much healthier life.
Looking to quit smoking and improve your thyroid’s health? We can help.
Smokefree Clinic gives you access to many medically reviewed and trustworthy resources that can inform and aid you in your path to wellness, so have a look around!
If you’re ready to get started, Smokefree can connect you to Australian healthcare professionals who excel in helping patients quit smoking for good.
Link Reference
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7833671/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4645788/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9339747/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1784736/
- https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3004836/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8957745/