Lorna, I work for a group of physicians who have recently told me that smoking does have a link to P. Apparently because it affects the respiratory area, you are prone to all kinds of anomalies that come with smoking, such as cough congestion asthma copd sometimes pneumonia.
I too am/was a smoker who is "on the wagon" for the UMPTEENTH time.
If you need help trying to quit, there is a new med coming out that I am willing to try but need to check out side effects and contraindictions. I've tried just about every over the counter product and am still trying to find one that works. I have willpower but only with food, cold turkey doesn't work well for me. Right now I'm eating the heck out of these cherries and hope I don't gain 50 pounds in the process. I'll follow up on the new smoke cessation med coming out and if you're interested I'll fill you in. Nick can pretty much tell you anything that triggers or irritates P and is very knowledgable about the treatment pro's and con's. If it weren't for him I would probably getting shots twice a week.