Do you want to know if there is a relationship between thyroid disease and smoking? Are you concerned that your thyroid problems may be the result of smoking and whether you should quit?

Well, there are three initial questions we need to address before we delve into the links between thyroid disease and smoking. You have to ask yourself:

What is the connection between smoking and thyroid disease?

Does smoking make my thyroid disease worse?

· Is it just a coincidence that shortly after quitting smoking I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism?

Now that we’ve asked the questions, let’s answer them, okay?

There is a substance in tobacco smoke that affects thyroid function. This component is cyanide (yes cyanide!) It is converted to thiocyanate in tobacco smoke. Thiocyanate acts as an antithyroid agent that stops the body from absorbing iodine and from producing thyroid hormones.

There are other components of tobacco smoke that can also affect the production of thyroid hormone. More studies have shown that people who smoke are more likely to have an enlarged thyroid. Thyroid enlargement could be an indicator of signs of subtle thyroid disturbance.

Let’s take a look at what a medical journal has to say

There was an article in a 1995 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine that stated that smoking is associated with such a number of thyroid function abnormalities that it likely has various effects on the thyroid gland.

In women with low thyroid function, smoking decreases both thyroid secretion and thyroid hormone action. There is a direct link between thyroid function and smoking that is critical to recognize.

The more you have smoked in your life, the greater your risk of thyroid disease.

A study in the March 2000 Archives of Internal Medicine concluded that smoking is associated with an increased risk of developing overt thyroid disease. They concluded that cumulative cigarette smoking increases the risk of autoimmune thyroid disease.

Does quitting smoking lead to a higher chance of getting thyroid disease?

In 1996, Mary Shannon, a thyroid expert, noted anecdotal information in an “alt, support.thyroid” Usernet newsgroup of women diagnosed with hypothyroidism after quitting smoking just like her.

Mary Shannon quit smoking in July 1995 and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism shortly after. She began to wonder if there was a relationship between the disease and smoking. She concluded that she did not have a definitive answer as to whether quitting smoking “triggers” or unmasks thyroid problems; anecdotally, she concluded that there appears to be a connection.

Mary Shannon conducted a survey of 1,000 thyroid patients and 11% of those surveyed were diagnosed with thyroid disease three months after quitting and 18% were diagnosed within 6 months of quitting.

His theory was that smoking/tobacco smoke/nicotine creates an artificially high metabolism that masks the fatigue/lethargy commonly seen in hypothyroidism. That is, when a smoker stops smoking, this mask is removed and all the effects of hypothyroidism on metabolism are felt.

Also, for smokers with undiagnosed thyroid dysfunction, if they don’t fix their problem, quitting leads to a weight gain/metabolic double whammy. Smoking is an appetite suppressant, so when you quit, you’ll want to eat more, and when you quit, your metabolism will slow down. Nicotine speeds up metabolism, so when you quit smoking you don’t have nicotine intake.

So when you quit smoking, you want to eat more while your metabolism slows down, so weight gain is almost a given.

So should I quit smoking if I think I have a thyroid problem?

When you quit, it can actually make you feel worse. If you have a thyroid problem, symptoms that may have been masked by smoking will begin to show. You may gain weight and feel extremely tired.

However, at least you will know that there is a health problem and you will be able to go to your doctor and be diagnosed. Once you know you have a problem, then it can be addressed and a solution emerges. It can be as easy as changing your diet and lifestyle to overcome your hypothyroidism.