It has. Several studies have confirmed this … that at the very least, there is a causal relationship between smoking and rheumatoid arthritis.

In addition to COPD, my mom suffers from really severe rheumatoid arthritis, in her back, neck and hip. She’s in constant pain and has been for many years. She’s needed a cane for several years and has moved up to a walker. She can barely get up or down a flight of stairs. I have mild osteoarthritis from playing sports in my hip and shoulder and sometimes it bothers me quite a bit. I can’t even imagine what she goes through. I’ve often wondered how much of a connection there is between her decades of smoking and her severe arthritis.

A new study released in the UK earlier this month suggests that smoking is behind 1/3 of the most common kind of rheumatoid arthritis cases, and if you are genetically susceptible to arthritis, smoking may be behind more than 50 percent of those arthritis cases.

Arthritis is considered an autoimmune disease. Smoking’s role may be is that it’s damaging the body’s autoimmune system, increasing the risk of arthritis.

Smoking is also a risk factor for diabetes.