Smoking-A Trigger for Chronic Inflammation and Cancer Development in the Pancreas

Tobacco smoke, with its complexity of constituents, damages the pancreatic organ in multiple ways. Smoke not only affects pancreatic secretion patterns via its nicotine content but induces inflammatory reactions and exerts carcinogenic effects by several other constituents. Smoke enhances ethanol-induced pancreatic injury and accelerates the development and progression of chronic pancreatitis independent of etiology. Through the process of...