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Written by Dr Dan Rutherford, GP
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Nicotine and the toxic substances found in cigarette smoke have a huge impact on the detoxification process of the body.
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Smoking causes cell damage, which leads to diseases such as cancer, high cholesterol levels, coronary and circulatory problems, respiratory disorders and an increased risk of osteoporosis.
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Smoking drains the body of many essential vitamins
and minerals, affecting your ability to absorb these vital nutrients.
Smoking causes most problems for vitamin C.
Vitamin C is one of the body's main antioxidants. Antioxidants are linked to the prevention of a number of diseases.
The more you smoke, the more vitamin C you lose from your tissues and blood. But your body needs more vitamin C to counteract the damage that smoking causes to your cells.
To make up for this disturbance, a smoker needs to increase their vitamin C intake to around 2000mg a day. This can't be achieved by diet alone, so a supplement is needed.
Smokers should also try to increase their intake of antioxidants, mainly from fruit and vegetables. That said, no amount of supplements or antioxidants can protect the body against the damage caused by smoking.
The only real solution is to quit smoking.
Other articles in this series
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Last updated 21.03.2007
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