More Reason To Quit: Smoking Causes Arthritis Among Blacks

If there weren’t already enough reasons for cigarette smokers to quit, more incentive just appeared in the form of a longitudinal study published in the December issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism. The report demonstrated that Blacks who smoke face a dramatically increased likelihood of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Further, the more smokers light up, the greater the risk. Heavy, long-term smoking increases the chances of developing RA by 2.37 times on average. This is consistent with earlier findings from studies among European populations of non-smokers and smokers.

ACSH President Dr. Elizabeth Whelan says this is “yet more evidence of the amazing diversity of adverse effects from smoking.”