More Proof Why Not to Puff

On the heels of our report in the February 2006 issue ['Burning Question'] warning about the high rates of cigarette smoking among HIVers and the detrimental effects tobacco use could have on antiretroviral treatment, the ongoing Women's Interagency HIV Study released a report in May supporting that notion. After controlling for age, race, hepatitis C infection, illicit drug use, and a prior AIDS diagnosis, researchers concluded that low-income women who were taking combination therapy and who were smokers had a higher risk of poor viral response, poor immunologic response, virologic rebound, and more frequent immunologic failure when compared with nonsmokers. There was also a higher risk of death and of developing AIDS, although there was no significant difference between smokers and nonsmokers when comparing deaths caused by AIDS-related complications.