Smokers May Experience Greater HIV Infection Risk

Smokers may be at greater risk of HIV infection than non-smokers, according to an article published research issued ahead of print in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections. Cigarette smoking has already been linked to a higher chance of contracting other infections generally, including those sexually transmitted.

Six studies assessed the association between cigarette smoking and becoming HIV positive. Five of them concluded that smokers ran a greater risk, varying from around 60% to more than tripling the risk. Ten further papers looked at the association between smoking and progression to AIDS and nine concluded that smokers were not at increased risk.

"The consistency of the findings is striking and represents a major strength of this review," comment the authors, adding: "while the studies vary in quality, they include reports of high quality investigations using large sample sizes."

Tobacco smoke may enhance vulnerability to infection by modifying the structure of the lungs and changing an array of immune system responses, including curbs on the production of antibodies and the activity of infection fighting white cells, the authors suggest. In my view, the immunosuppressive effects of smoking are not given sufficient attention in the anti-smoking world. Since smoking degrades protective linings of tissues it unavoidably increases infection risk.

There are almost 40 million people in the world living with HIV/AIDS, and the global death toll related to tobacco is expected to reach 8.4 million in 2020. The authors suggest that encouraging people to give up smoking is an essential public health measure and it may also contribute to the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS prevention programmes.