What Are the Risks With Smoking & Beta-Carotene?

Smoking is known to cause a number of health related problems including lung trouble, heart disorders and risks for cancer. Beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A and a potent antioxidant, has been found to help with many conditions, including cancer. However, a study has shown that there may be a bad reaction between nicotine and beta-carotene in the human body. When ingested, they may make some be at an even higher risk for developing certain health problems. This study, however, is still the subject of debate.

The ATBC Trial Study

• A study conducted in Finland by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) gave beta-carotene, vitamin E or a placebo to three separate groups of adult male smokers. The researchers found that smokers who took the beta-carotene supplements had an 18 percent higher chance of developing lung cancer and an 8 percent higher average mortality rate than the other groups. This concluded that supplementation with beta-carotene should be avoided by smokers, as it is potentially damaging to their health. The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in July of 2003 and has led many physicians to make this recommendation to smoking patients.

Follow Up Studies

• Because of these findings, researchers wanted to know if beta-carotene rich foods should also be avoided by smokers who wanted to lower their risk of lung cancer. A study published in the 2004 journal, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers Prevention, outlined the results of reviewing seven different studies on lung cancer where very specific questionnaires were given to patients about their diets and smoking habits. The researchers found that there was no correlation between beta-carotene intake and lung cancer incidence among smokers. They actually found that smokers who consume beta-carotene along with other antioxidants had a lower risk of lung cancer.

A Possible Explanation

• According to Dan Roberts of the non-profit Macular Degeneration Support website, the reason why beta-carotene was shown to spike lung cancer levels is because it was tested as an isolated compound. The way that antioxidants, such as beta-carotene, protect us is by interacting with other active phyto-chemicals and antioxidants to provide a broad spectrum of protection. In its natural state, in food sources, beta-carotene is found alongside of other phyto-chemical compounds.

Beta-Carotene and Cancer

• Since the 1990s many other studies on the effects of beta-carotene have been published and several have found that it does indeed lower the risk of certain types of cancer. A study published in a 2010 Breast Cancer Research and Treatment journal, for example, concluded that supplementation with beta-carotene is associated with significantly lower risks of breast cancer in post-menopausal women.