Does smoking slow wound healing?

Yes. Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen arriving at the wound, and scar tissue laid down afterward is of poorer quality. Smoking is one of the factors that impede healing.

Yes, and there’s a clear reason why.

Smoking reduces the amount of oxygen arriving at the wound. A wound rebuilding tissue needs a blood supply carrying oxygen to it, and less oxygen arriving means less of what the repair requires.

There’s a second effect that lasts beyond healing: any scar tissue laid down when the wound heals will be of poorer quality.

Smoking also interferes with healing more generally. Diabetes, poor circulation, nerve damage, infection, immobility, poor nutrition, smoking and excess alcohol use are all factors that impede healing and can explain why some wounds do not heal.

There’s no set figure for how much slower healing is, or how soon stopping makes a difference.

If you smoke and you have a wound that is not healing, this is worth raising with the person treating it rather than leaving unsaid. It is part of the clinical picture, and the conversation is a practical one about support rather than a reprimand.

What to watch for

Smoking reduces oxygen arriving at the wound and affects the quality of scar tissue.

Smoking is one of the factors that impede healing, alongside diabetes, poor circulation, nerve damage, infection, immobility, poor nutrition and excess alcohol use.

There’s no set figure for how much smoking slows healing or how quickly stopping helps.

Wound Wizard is general education and can’t assess your wound or your situation. Your own clinician is the right person to ask about your wound.

What we look at

  • Asking about smoking as part of the wound assessment
  • Checking blood flow to the area
  • Identifying everything that may be slowing healing
  • Offering support to stop, where that is wanted

Sources

  1. Wound Q&A for patients and relatives — European Wound Management Association https://ewma.org/resources-for-patients-private-carers/wound-qa-for-patients-and-relatives/
  2. Wound care centers — MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine https://medlineplus.gov/ency/patientinstructions/000739.htm