Can Smoking Affect Varicose Veins?

Smoking is a lifestyle choice, and it can affect veins and your circulatory system.

More immediate effects of the habit of smoking happen to be the narrowing of veins.  Smoking on a regular basis over time can create permanent changes in the venous linings.  When your veins narrow, this makes blood fighting gravity on it’s way back up to the heart much more challenging.  When this blood pools, the now hardened vein distend and can lead to varicosities.

The carbon monoxide and tar from cigarette smoke also have bad effects on the venous system Carbon monoxide reduces oxygen in the blood.  If the there are lower oxygen levels, veins can get inflammation or injury.  Free radicals, being released to remove the irritating substances, have also been linked to causing more injury to the vein walls, which can lead to varicose veins.

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