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Smoking increases the of many chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer. It is reasonable to question if smoking causes kidney stones too! There is some research to show that smoking might cause kidney stones.
Let’s dive into it!
Table of Contents
What is a Kidney Stone?
A kidney stone is a crystallization of molecules that can form anywhere in the urinary tract. Most kidney stones are made from calcium and oxalate. They can also be formed phosphate, uric acid, struvite and cystine. (1)
Kidney stones are infamous for causing pain if they start moving through the urinary tract. Sometimes, kidney stones can cause blood in the urine, infection, fever and in extreme cases, sepsis.
Most kidney stones can be passed through the ureter. Somtimes, kidney stones need to be removed via ureteroscopy, lithotripsy or percutaneous nephrolithotomy.
Unfortunately, people with kidney stones are also more likely to have high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and osteopenia. (2) (3) (4)
Does Smoking Cigarettes Cause Kidney Stones?
A 2021 study reviewed 9 research papers that investigated “does smoking cause kidney stones”?. They found mixed results. (5) Five papers found that smoking was not associated with kidney stones. But, 4 of the papers found that smoking made a big difference. In one study, people who smoked had almost a 700% increased chance of having a kidney stones. (6) Another study found that smoking increased the risk of kidney stones by 66%. (7)
It is safe to say smoking can cause kidney stones in people at risk.
How Does Smoking Cigarettes Cause Kidney Stones?
We don’t know exactly how smoking can cause kidney stones. It is possible that smoking has an antidiuretic effect, which could increase urine concentrations leading to kidney stones. (5)
Smoking also increaes metals such as stronium, mercury and cadmium. These metals might cause kidney stones, although research in’t clear. (5)
Lastly, smoking causes inflammation, which can cause kidney damage and contribute to kidney stones. (8)
Does Smoking Weed Cause Kidney Stones?
Smoking weed does not seem to cause kidney stones. In fact, a 2023 study found that marijuana use reduced the risk of kidney stones by about 30% in males. (9) Marijuana was not associated with kidney stones in females. (9)
Marijuana might reduce kidney stones because it may increase urine and lower inflammation. Animal studies have found that cannabis can increase how much urine mice make, and reduce inflammation. (10) (11)
Importantly, smoking weed is also associated with depression, anxiety, memory impairment, social skills, poor judgement and bronchitis. (12) It is not recommended to use marijuana to help kidney stones.
Is It Okay To Smoke With Kidney Stones?
In addition to increasing kidney stone risk, smoking cigarettes increases risk of many chronic diseases such as: (g)
- Cancer
- Heart Disease & Stroke
- Respiratory Diseases
- Diabetes
- Asthma
- Macular degeneration
- Rhematoid arthritis
- Bone health
If you smoke cigarettes and have kidney stones, it is a good idea to stop smoking to both reduce risk of more kidney stones and other severe chronic diseases.
Check out these tips from the CDC to help you quit smoking.
What Can Cause Kidney Stones?
Most kidney stones are caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors such as diet.
Many medical conditions can increase the risk of kidney stones. (1) Some of the most common are:
- History of gastric bypass surgery or short bowel syndrome
- Hyperparathyrodism
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Diabetes
- Eating disorders
Nutritionally, many different things can cause kidney stones. Some of the most common things are:
- Not drinking enough water
- Inadequate calcium
- Too much animal protein (other than dairy)
- Not enough fruits and vegetables
- Too much salt
How to Prevent Kidney Stones?
Effective kidney stone prevention is different for every single person. Every body and kidney stone is different!
To put together a kidney stone prevention plan that actually works, it is important to get a 24-hour urine test to understand your risks for making kidney stones in the future. Then, it is important to work with a healthcare professional who really understands kidney stone prevention. They will be able to put together a plan that works for you!
We help people prevent kidney stones in our online course, Kidney Stone Nutrition School and via our 1:1 kidney stone dietitian appointments. We would love to help you stay kidney stone free!
Learn more about how we can help.
Do you think smoking has caused kidney stones for you? Share your experience below and we will get back to you ASAP.
Happy Eating!
Melanie
I have been doing research on different sites that I get through Google and there’s so much contradiction for instance white bread or rye bread or wheat bread I get some that say one is good and the other one isn’t and then others will say that one’s not good and the others are looking for the ox content in them I don’t know what site to go to get the proper numbers there’s so many of them
Hi Michelle! I TOTALLY get your frustration! Trying to figure out how much oxalate is in a food is quite frankly, impossible. The Harvard oxalate list is generally considered the gold standard (what I base my info on), but hoenstly, a low oxalate diet isn’t even the best way to go about preventing stones (learn more here and here!). I’d check out this article about what really does make a difference for oxalate stone prevention. But ultimately, kidney stone nutrition is different for EVERY single person and needs to be individualized to their 24-hour urine test. We help people come up with personalized stone prevention nutrition plans and help people STOP those kidney stones in our course and via working with our kidney stone dietitians.