If you smoke

Every entry whose writeup carries a note for if you smoke. The note is the entry’s own — follow it for the full context. See this in the planner →

Supplements

• Beta-CaroteneAvoid supplemental beta-carotene specifically — two large trials (ATBC and CARET) found doses in the 20–30 mg/day range raised lung cancer incidence 18–28% in smokers and former smokers. This risk is tied to concentrated supplements, not the beta-carotene in vegetables, where higher intake tracks with lower cancer risk.
• NACOne of the more plausible non-antioxidant cases in this group: a post-hoc analysis of high-dose NAC (600 mg twice daily) in COPD found a larger drop in exacerbations among current and former smokers than in people who had never smoked.
• Vitamin CSmoking measurably increases how fast you burn through vitamin C — the reference intake is 35 mg/day higher for smokers, and for regular secondhand exposure, than for non-smokers.

Other situations