The Relationship Between Smoking, Drinking, and High Blood Pressure
The Relationship Between Smoking, Drinking, and High Blood Pressure
Smoking’s link to various cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, is widely recognized. Studies show that after smoking one cigarette, heart rate increases by 5–20 beats per minute, and systolic blood pressure rises by 10–25 mmHg. In untreated hypertensive patients, smokers exhibit higher 24-hour systolic and diastolic blood pressure than non-smokers, particularly with significantly elevated nighttime blood pressure. Elevated nighttime blood pressure is directly related to left ventricular hypertrophy, meaning smoking causes blood pressure to rise and harms the heart.
Tobacco contains multiple harmful substances, with nicotine (nicotine) being the primary one. Nicotine stimulates the central and sympathetic nervous systems, accelerating heart rate and prompting the adrenal glands to release large amounts of catecholamines, causing small arteries to constrict and raising blood pressure. Nicotine also stimulates chemical receptors in blood vessels, reflexively increasing blood pressure. Long-term heavy smoking promotes atherosclerosis in large arteries and thickens the inner lining of small arteries, gradually hardening the entire vascular system. Meanwhile, increased carbon monoxide-bound hemoglobin in smokers reduces blood oxygen levels, leading to hypoxia in arterial walls and increased lipid deposition, accelerating the formation of atherosclerosis.
Therefore, non-hypertensive individuals should quit smoking to prevent hypertension, while those already diagnosed with hypertension must quit even more urgently. Research confirms that smoking harms not only the smoker but also passive smokers, whose health risks are comparable to those of active smokers. Thus, smoking brings nothing but harm and no benefits.
In contrast, the health effects of alcohol remain controversial. Various studies present conflicting views—some claim alcohol is entirely harmful, while others argue moderate drinking benefits health. One thing is certain: excessive alcohol consumption is definitely harmful. High-concentration alcohol contributes to atherosclerosis and worsens hypertension. Conversely, abstaining from alcohol poses no harm to health.