How smoking and quitting impact on psychotropic and other medications (useful to know)

Cigarette smoke contains about 3,000 different chemicals. Some of these chemicals can interact with the medications, and a few of these interactions can be quite significant.

The main responsible are chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These PAHs can change the way the body processes certain drugs.

Here’s how it works:

PAHs activate liver enzymes. When these enzymes are activated, they can speed up the metabolism of drugs that use these pathways, lowering the drug levels in the blood.

 Heavy smokers and those who smoke unfiltered cigarettes have higher levels of enzyme activation. The more you inhale, the more PAHs get into your system, leading to greater enzyme induction.

When you quit smoking, these enzyme levels quickly return to normal. The activity of some enzymes dropped to steady levels within a week after quitting. As a result, drug levels in the blood can increase when stop smoking, which might lead to higher chances of side effects or toxicity.

Even though we know this, there aren’t clear guidelines for how to manage medications when you quit smoking because specific studies on these interactions are still lacking.

So, if a person you’re caring for is a smoker or planning to quit, it’s essential to talk to the doctor about the medications and how to avoid potential issues.