Smoking and CKD

Smoking doesn’t just affect your lungs. It damages blood vessels, increases blood pressure, and reduces the flow of blood to your kidneys. This can speed up the progression of CKD.

How does smoking affect CKD?

Smoking causes harm in several ways. It can:

• Make kidney disease worse by reducing blood flow to the kidneys
• Increase your risk of heart disease and stroke, both more common in people with CKD
• Make medicines for blood pressure and cholesterol less effective
• Increase your risk of certain cancers, including kidney cancer
• Raise the chances of needing dialysis earlier

Even smoking a small amount or only occasionally can be harmful if you have CKD.

What about passive smoking?

Breathing second-hand smoke can also affect your health. It can:

• Raise blood pressure
• Increase the risk of heart and kidney damage
• Be especially harmful for children, older adults and those with other long-term conditions

Keeping your home and car smoke-free helps protect others and reduces your own exposure.

Stopping smoking

It’s never too late to stop. Stopping smoking can:

• Slow the progression of kidney disease
• Lower your blood pressure
• Reduce your risk of heart problems
• Help your body respond better to treatment
• Improve your energy, breathing and quality of life

Getting help to stop

There’s a lot of support available to help you stop smoking. You don’t have to do it alone.

• Speak to your local pharmacist, GP or practice nurse about stop smoking services
• You may be offered nicotine replacement therapy or other treatments
• You can also get free help from the NHS Stop Smoking service

Every effort you make to cut down or stop can have a real benefit to your kidneys and your overall health.