Arthritis At Home Episode 148 – Smoking and rheumatoid arthritis: Quitting is critical

Research has shown that smoking increases the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but less is known about what happens to people who have established RA. But new research (October 2022) from an early arthritis registry in Sweden shows that current smoking makes RA disease activity worse and negatively impacts health-related quality of life. In this episode of Arthritis At Home, Cheryl Koehn of Arthritis Consumer Experts talks with Dr. Kamran Shojania about the specific harms of smoking in people living with RA and shares his thoughts on how to discuss quitting with his patients.

Dr. Kamran Shojania is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Medical Director of the Mary Pack Arthritis Program for the Province of British Columbia. Dr. Shojania was the Medical Director of the Vancouver Pain Clinic from 1996 to 2001. From 1998 to 2007, he was the Director of Continuing Medical Education in the UBC Division of Rheumatology, and from 2001 to 2006, he was the recipient of a Clinician-Teacher Award from The Arthritis Society. He is the 2003 recipient of the UBC Faculty of Medicine Award for Excellence in Teaching. Dr. Shojania has treated thousands of patients with rheumatoid arthritis over the past 30 years.

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