| Hi Olivia,
So many people are consuming nicotine, e cigarette or traditional cigarettes and by now most people are pretty aware of how harmful nicotine is to the body.
But rarely does someone think about how nicotine may impact their gut.
The research on this is a little bit lacking - the results are mixed and a bit confusing to be honest.
Studies suggest that nicotine does not make you poop anymore, unlike how other drugs like caffeine stimulates bowel movements.
BUT nicotine does seem to have a negative impact on the gut microbiome and IBS specifically.
Increasing evidence from studies done on animals and humans suggests that smoking affects the composition of the gut microbiome.
First, it has been found that smokers have a higher infection rate of Shigella bacteria which can cause diarrhoea.
And secondly, a recent study, showed that nicotine dependence was found to be higher in smokers with IBS than smokers without IBS. After a year of stopping smoking, bloating, constipation and diarrhoea were reduced by 27% in the IBS participants!!
If you want more detailed information on this topic then check out our full guide on the blog by clicking here.
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