Smoking: does it help or hurt UC?

@JC1969 Its very strange isn't it. I wonder why.

My ulcerative colitis started when I gave up cigarettes and always eases if I have any cigarettes on a weekend. I do still use a vape with nicotine but that doesn’t have the same effect as cigarettes so I’m not convinced it’s the nicotine that helps to ease it. 

I've heard of this too! I have a girlfriend from my IBD group whose UC started when she quit too. She quit for a few years but with the stress of life and everything else she ended up starting again and then noticed that it seemed to prevent or eased her flares. I've been trying to convince her to quit or at least switch to a vape but she won't budge!

I was diagnosed with UC not long after quitting smoking. Smoking suppresses the immune system therefore when you give up, your immune system goes into overdrive 

The symptoms for my UC was on and off for a couple of years before diagnosis and it ties into the time I was stopping and starting smoking. I use a vape now and have ongoing symptoms but on the odd weekend I will have a few cigarettes and when I do the symptoms cease. The comment above about smoking suppressing the immune system makes sense 

@Courtney_J Hi, I have been a smoker for years and diagnosed with UC back in '93. Every time I tried to give up smoking, I ended up having a significant flare up, and a couple of times, ended up in hospital. 

Unfortunately because of autoimmune disease, I have now been diagnosed with Graves Disease and at risk of losing my eyesight if I continue smoking. So in February I stopped and by May I was signed off work with another significant flare up. 

Now for the interesting bit. My GP informed me that UC is the only medical condition that is helped by smoking, so much so Doctors have to answer a question on it in their medical exams in the UK. Sadly though, the medical field are still trying to find out what element(s) of smoking is actually responsible for alleviating this horrible disease. Fingers crossed for a breakthrough