The link between smoking and HPV

To eliminate any possibility of misunderstanding right off the bat: Smoking does not cause HPV, and it does not increase your likelihood of contracting HPV (at least, not anymore than it increases your likelihood of contracting any other disease). The main reason you shouldn’t smoke is now and always has been and always will be the possibility of lung cancer.However, there is a link between HPV and smoking cigarettes. In 2001, the Journal of the American Medical Association found that smoking cigarettes can contribute significantly to the risk of infections with cancer causing strains of HPV escalating to cervical cancer.Smoking increases your risk of cancer, no matter what. Not all smokers exposed to HPV will develop LSIL, or Low-grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions, the condition which leads to cervical cancer, but smoking certainly doesn’t help matters, either.If you smoke, quit. Even if you don’t contract HPV, cigarette smoking can still increase your likelihood of developing cervical cancer (HPV is to blame for about 70% of cervical cancer, but that leaves more than 3,000 cervical cancer victims who do not have HPV).Besides increasing risk of cancer, smoking does harm the immune system. This means you’re more susceptible to HPV, the flu, and even the common cold when you smoke.Here are two things to consider:Be SafePractice safe sex. Remember that even with a condom, HPV can be passed on, so know your sex partner. It’s a good idea to get an STD test if you’re not sure about yourself or your partner or partners. Practicing monogamy is also a good idea, as studies have shown that your risk for contracting HPV jumps up by about 1000% with each new sex partner (to each their own, but consider your health).There is, actually, an HPV vaccine on the market for high risk forms of HPV. Ask your doctor about it.Don’t Smoke!If you smoke, you already know it’s bad for you. Quitting isn’t easy, but it’s true that, if you smoke, it will kill you. You’ll be on edge while going through nicotine withdrawal, but it sure beats lung cancer.Some tips for quitting smoking…Cut BackIf you’ve already tried quitting cold turkey and it doesn’t seem to be working, start cutting back. Pay attention to how many cigarettes you smoke in a day and start reducing that number. If you’re a pack-a-day smoker, only allow yourself to smoke fifteen cigarettes between the time you wake up and go to sleep. The next day, cut down to ten, then remove a cigarette or two from your daily routine every day until you’ve weaned yourself off of nicotine dependency well enough to throw your last cigarette away and not feel like digging it out of the trash an hour later.Satisfy your Oral FixationFor many smokers, it’s the fidgeting aspect that keeps them coming back. Try chewing on toothpicks, chewing gum, or eating sunflower seeds.Cigars and PipesChewing tobacco will give you jaw cancer, so don’t even think about it. Cigars and pipe tobacco, however, are significantly safer. In moderation, they do still pose some risk of developing mouth or throat cancer, but, because you don’t inhale the smoke, there’s little to no risk of developing lung cancer. Don’t think this is a free ticket to smoke; studies have shown that there is some risk. If you smoke something like eight cigars a day, that’s as bad as smoking two packs of unfiltered every day. Smoking anything at all isn’t really recommended, per se, but if you can’t seem to kick your smoking habit, tasting the smoke and spitting it out is a much safer way to get that nicotine fix than inhaling clouds of tar and poison into your chest. If you can switch to cigars, cigars are a lot easier to quite than cigarettes, being much less addictive, while still giving a nicotine buzz.