In Australia, tobacco smoking is the number one risk factor which contributes to disease burden and deaths. [1] Tobacco smoking causes degeneration of intervertebral discs [2] and lumbar disc herniation, lower back pain and sciatica. [3]
Patients undergoing fusion surgery who are smokers, are more likely to experience a non-union or failure and experience complications around the time of surgery, such as a surgical-site infection and pneumonia. [4]
Individuals who engage in programs with behavioural and pharmaceutical support have much higher rates of smoking cessation at 6 months and 1 year, compared to those who try and quit smoking unassisted. [5] If you are a smoker, develop a plan to quit smoking and improve your spinal and overall health.
[1] Winstanley, MH & Greenhalgh, EM 2019, ‘3.30 Total burden of death and disease attributable to tobacco by disease category’, in MM Scollo and MH Winstanley (eds), Tobacco in Australia: Facts and Issues, Cancer Council Victoria.
[2] Elmasry, S, Asfour, S, de Rivero Vaccari, JP & Travascio, F 2015, ‘Effects of Tobacco Smoking on the Degeneration of the Intervertebral Disc: A Finite Element Study’, PLoS One, vol. 10, no. 8.
[3] Huang, W, Qian, Y, Zheng, K, Yu, L & Yu, X 2016, ‘Is smoking a risk factor for lumbar disc herniation?’, European Spine Journal, vol. 25, pp. 168-176.
[4] Berman, D, Oren, JH, Bendo, J & Spivak, J 2017, ‘The Effect of Smoking on Spinal Fusion’, International Journal of Spine Surgery, vol. 11, no. 4.
[5] Andritsou, M, Schoretsaniti, S, Litsiou, E, Saltagianni, V, Konstadara, K, Spiliotopoulou, A, Zakynthinos, S & Katsaounou, P 2016, ‘Success rates are correlated mainly to completion of a smoking cessation program’, European Respiratory Journal, vol. 48, suppl. 60.
