Smoking

Smoking increases your risk of developing lung cancer, other cancers, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and other diseases, and of dying early. For these reasons, smoking is an important health issue for everyone, but it is a greater concern for people living with HIV, who tend to smoke more than the general population.

About 1 in 5 U.S. adults smoke. Among adults living with HIV, the number of people who smoke is 2 to 3 times greater. Smoking has many negative health effects on people who are living with HIV. For example, smokers living with HIV:

• Are at higher risk than nonsmokers with HIV of developing lung cancer, head and neck cancers, cervical and anal cancers, and other cancers;
• Are more likely than nonsmokers with HIV to develop bacterial pneumonia, Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, COPD, and heart disease;
• Are more likely than nonsmokers with HIV to develop conditions that affect the mouth, such as oral candidiasis (thrush) and oral hairy leukoplakia; and
• Have a poorer response to antiretroviral therapy (ART).

People with HIV who smoke have a greater chance of developing a life-threating illness that leads to an AIDS diagnosis. People who smoke and live with HIV also have a shorter lifespan than people living with HIV who do not smoke.