Smoking Costs Dollars, Legs, and Now Your Job!

With the economy slowly recovering, every smoker is faced with the financial burden of their bad habit. Many still push out the dollar signs for their nicotine. Others are paying a different price for the many cigarette breaks. Smokers are 16 times more likely to have peripheral vascular disease or PVD. This disease leads to decreased blood flow, painful limbs, chronic ulcers, and amputations. But wait there is more. The job market is a little smaller for smokers as many companies are adopting anti-smoking policies.

Hospitals and medical businesses are turning away smokers. Part of the interview is screening your smoking habits and some go as far as instituting a nicotine urine test. Why the crackdown on smokers in the workplace? With health care dollars a growing concern for many employers, they are trying to cut their losses anywhere possible. It is estimated that the average smoker cost greater than $3,000 more to employ than the non-smoking counterpart. This is attributed to the higher health care costs and the lost productivity due to those many cigarette breaks.

29 states, with the help of strong lobbies, have adopted laws that prohibit smoking discrimination. Still many large health institutions have adopted the policy. The Cleveland Clinic has been hiring non-smokers since 2007. Also not hiring smokers is the American Lung Association, The American Cancer Society, and the World Health Organization.

Do you need any more reasons to stop smoking! Smoking continues to be leading cause of preventable death. One in five Americans still smoke. We have all heard the dangers of smoking from cancer to cardiovascular disease, but did you know smoking is bad for your feet? I hesitate doing any surgery on smokers. Got a bunion? If you smoke, you are at higher risk of non-healing, infection, and many other complications. Nicotine causes your blood vessels to constrict and decreases the amount of oxygen and nutrients delivered to your tissues. Years of smoking causes years of damage to your feet and legs.

Too many of my patients come in with ulcers due to poor circulation A number of my patients are missing toes because the blood flow was so poor it could not keep the toes alive. Smokers have thinning skin and are on the verge of losing their legs. Cigarettes will cost you your pocket book, cost you your legs, and now may cost you your job. Quit while you are ahead, because it will get worse the longer you puff.

Why Do My Legs Hurt?

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is becoming more and more prevalent in America. Our love of fast food and convenience has lead to almost 10 million Americans to be diagnosed with PAD. Our body naturally starts forming plaques in our arteries. This is part of the aging process. Unhealthy lifestyles though cause abnormal increases in plaque and as we get older, these high levels of plaque hardens and causes narrowing of the blood vessels. Arteries supply the body with blood rich in oxygen. If the vessels narrow, the body is not getting the appropriate amount of oxygen to the organs and muscles. Thus, those with PAD are four times more likely to have a heart attack and almost three times more likely to have a stroke.

Who is at Risk? Those with diabetes have a significant risk in developing PAD. So much so, that the American Diabetes Association recommend everyone with diabetes over the age of 50 should be tested. Other high risk factors are high blood pressure, high cholesterol, family history of heart disease, or being overweight. Smoking will also increase your likelihood of developing PADS by four times.

The first signs and symptoms of PAD are often first seen in the legs and feet. This is why we highly encourage high risk patients to pay close attention to pain, discomfort or open lesions in the legs and feet. One will often feel like their legs get tired or painful when walking or climbing exercise. When experiencing this pain, it will go away with rest. This is termed intermittent claudicating and is a sign that your muscles are not getting enough oxygen. One may also feel numbness or tingling, coldness, changes in color, hair loss on the legs and feet. These are all be signs of a serious problem, but some people who have PAD do not appear with any of these symptoms. Thus it is very important to still get tested if you are at risk.

How to get tested? If you are experiencing any of symptoms above or are at high risk of getting PAD, you should consult a health care provider. Testing for PAD is noninvasive, pain free, quick and easy! The examiner will either use a standardized machine or manually take your blood pressure on your arm, ankle and other areas on your leg. Significant changes in your blood pressure in your legs and or ankle is diagnostic of PAD.

What to do if you have PAD. It is important to take the steps to adjust your lifestyle to prevent the progression of the disease. It is advised that patients stop smoking, lose weight, and exercise to improve blood flow. All treatment plans should be thoroughly discussed with your doctor to know what options are right for your body. The doctor may prescribe blood pressure medication, encourage physical therapy, and in critical conditions, surgery may be necessary.

Those suffering from PAD are at an increased risk of having several foot issues including non-healing ulcers. PAD patients should visit a podiatrist regularly for foot screenings and management of foot and ankle problems. A growing number of the American population are having foot and leg amputations due to the effects of diabetes and PAD. Many of these amputations are highly preventable when people take the appropriate steps to care for their feet and consult a podiatric physician when suffering from any foot and leg pain or abnormalities.