Think smoking only affects your lungs? Your liver would like a word.
If you’re still smoking and living with MASH, there are compelling reasons to quit
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When a new year rolls around, many of us naturally turn our attention to health. I’ve made enough resolutions over the years to know that chaining myself to grand promises usually ends with guilt and takeout. These days, I’m more interested in choosing which habits genuinely improve my life — and which ones deserve to be shown the door.
Thankfully, smoking isn’t one of those habits anymore.
Living with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) has made me acutely aware — at near quantum levels — of which behaviors help my liver and which quietly sabotage it. I’ve cleaned up my diet, quit alcohol entirely, and thanks to a recent knee surgery, I’m moving more than I have in years. None of those changes would have mattered much if I were still smoking.
The consequences of smoking
As a young woman newly cut loose from home and exploring the world hundreds of miles from where I was raised, cigarettes held a particular fascination. Nearly everyone in my family smoked — parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. Some of my earliest memories are steeped in the scent of Pall Malls, black coffee, and my grandmother’s stories about New Orleans nightlife in the 1940s. She’d speak in a low, musical voice, drawing long, dramatic drags from her unfiltered cigarettes while smoke curled above us like belly dancers performing for an invisible crowd.
Smoking, at first, was social. I ran with writers, artists, and musicians — a group not exactly known for clear lungs or healthy livers. We sipped gin martinis and behaved as if our organs were immune to consequences. Research, unfortunately, tells a much less romantic story.
It should surprise no one that smoking damages the liver. Cigarettes contain thousands of chemicals that turn healthy organs into a private fight club, where the liver is just as vulnerable to injury and cancer as the lungs or heart. Smoking also increases the risk of type 2 diabetes by 30%-40% — an important factor, since diabetes often plays a role in the development and progression of MASH.
So how exactly do cigarettes affect the liver?
Smoking disrupts fat metabolism, encouraging fat to accumulate more efficiently in liver tissue. Cigarettes are loaded with toxic substances, including formaldehyde — a chemical more commonly associated with embalming. These compounds increase inflammation, damage liver cells, and contribute to apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Over time, that damage adds up.
I quit smoking at 24. I’m deeply grateful I had the foresight to think about my future health when I did. Quitting wasn’t easy. The nicotine cravings were physical and painful, but within two weeks, they faded. I could move faster without getting winded. My chronic heartburn disappeared. I learned healthier ways to calm my mind when stress hit. Smoking, it turned out, had never been the solution.
As you make plans for the year ahead, if you’re still smoking and living with MASH, there are real and compelling reasons to quit. Free nicotine patches, gum, and other quit-smoking aids are available by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW. They can also connect you with support groups, which make the process feel far less lonely.
A new year is a perfectly good excuse to take better care of your liver. One change can ripple outward in ways you never expected. This might be the year you find out just how much better life can feel.
Note: Liver Disease News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Liver Disease News or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to liver disease.
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