Tobacco smoke contains hundreds of chemicals and at least twenty of which have been implicated in cancer.
Smoking irritates the lining of the nose, increasing nasal secretions and swelling.
The nose become s less able to cleanse itself and more susceptible to allergens. In my practice, I have not had a single allergic patient who smokes improve with allergy shots. Some doctors will not even allergy test patients that smoke, and for the most part I follow this practice. Unfortunately, most patients have caused irreversible damage to the lining of their nose and quitting smoking does not improve their symptoms. Many patients experience a worsening of their symptoms since goblet cell hypertrophy takes place which increases nasal secretions.