Smoking and your Feet

 

Smoking is the cause of many health related issues; lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema. Smoking can even affect your feet. Physicians can sometimes spot a smoker by the skin on their feet. It is generally thinner, shinier and reddish.

The biggest concern with feet and smoking is peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Plaque builds up in your arteries, affecting the arteries that run down your legs to your feet. Plaque build up causes arteries to become stiff and narrowed, which makes it hard for blood to reach your feet.  A foot can become badly damaged due to lack of blood flow. This sometimes results in foot amputation.

Your risk of developing PAD is four times greater for smokers, and you are likely to get it at an earlier age than non-smokers. Those with PAD are five times more likely to die from issues associated with cardiovascular disease.

Take good care of your feet and the rest of your body by not smoking.

 

Image by Eddie Welker. No Smoking. (2009). Flickr.