World No Tobacco Day 2025: Doctors share why smoking with morning tea on empty stomach harms gut and lungs

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

A cup of steaming tea while taking a puff of a cigarette has been glorified. But this habit may be doing you more harm than you realise, adversely affecting your lungs and gut, setting up for digestive and respiratory conditions in the long run.
World No Tobacco Day, observed annually on May 31, which advocates for cutting down on tobacco consumption, is an appropriate time to draw attention to this health-wrecking habit.
HT Lifestyle reached out to experts, who explained how this simple combination of tea and a cigarette in the morning may be dangerous for your lungs and gut health.
Dr Sarat Kumar Behera, senior consultant pulmonologist, Manipal Hospital, Bhubaneshwar, shared with us how tea combined with smoking in the morning can impair respiratory health.
He said, 'Smoking a first cigarette in the morning, when the lungs are most vulnerable, immediately reduces lung function. While sleeping, the lungs are in a resting state, in which they recover from the respiratory system. A first-morning cigarette jolts this system with a hit of poisonous chemicals, which impairs oxygen exchange and destroys the delicate hair-like structures (cilia) that remove mucus and other debris. This interference can result in difficulty breathing, lower energy, and an observable loss of appetite as the body fights to restore balance."
Here are some more ways it can damage your respiratory health, as shared by Dr Sarat:
Now that you know the ill effects of cigarettes on your lungs and overall respiratory health, let's also take a look at how the tea-cigarette combination impacts your gut when consumed on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.
Dr Gyan Ranjan Rout, consultant gastroenterologist, Manipal Hospital, Bhubaneshwar, explains how this seemingly harmless habit can trigger a chain of negative reactions in your gut, from acid reflux to suppressed appetite.
He said, 'From a digestive standpoint, nicotine is a major disruptor. It stimulates excess gastric acid secretion, which is particularly harmful when the stomach is empty, as it usually is in the morning. Combined with caffeine from tea, this creates a hyperacidic environment that aggravates conditions like gastritis and peptic ulcers.'
Dr Gyan shared these negative consequences of smoking and sipping on tea in the morning:
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Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.