Can Quitting Smoking Cause GERD?

What is GERD?
GERD or Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease is commonly known as acid reflux. It is a very common disorder affecting a large number of people. It can be caused by a number of factors and there are other factors that can worsen the condition, one of them being smoking.

Can quitting smoking cause GERD?
Smoking has a number of ill effects on the body, GERD being one of them. Excess acid rises up into the food pipe or esophagus, giving a very unpleasant sensation, which can sometimes cause uneasiness and burning in the esophagus. Smoking damages the sphincter muscles that prevent acid reflux to a large extent. It also decreases the amount of saliva produced due to which acid does not get neutralized fast.

But it has been observed that some of those who quit smoking also experience acid reflux, especially in the initial days after quitting. This is quite contradictory to researches that show that smoking increases incidence of acid reflux and that stopping smoking is one way to reduce it.

The reason for this is that individuals with GERD who have been smoking and have quit experience some kind of damage to the sphincter muscles. Although it may not be completely reversed, these muscles may recover to some extent, but that takes time. Also, the secretion of saliva takes a while to return to normal. Till that happens, the acid that is refluxed does not get neutralized easily.

This makes people think that the quitting is responsible for the acid reflux. But in reality, its just the effects from the time of smoking that the body takes a while to recover from. This frequent GERD, however, eventually wears off or reduces once the body starts recovering from the damage of smoking.