Studies have shown a clear link between back pain and smoking. There are many reasons, including the lack of oxygen supplied to discs and other back tissue, coughing, lower physical fitness among smokers, and a less understood connection seen between smoking and degenerative disc disease. Since smoking harms so many aspects of physical health, anyone experiencing back pain can only benefit from quitting. Sutter offers several smoking cessation programs, which can be found under Smoking Cessation in our Classes & Support Groups section.

For further information, see our Healthwise health information sections on quitting tobacco use. Also see the Tobacco Control Research Branch of the National Cancer Institute's Web site www.smokefree.gov. The link between smoking and back pain is also discussed in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke's Low Back Pain Fact Sheet. You can find additional information under smoking and smoking cessation in MedlinePlus®, a joint effort of the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine.

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