Smoking Weakens Response to HAART

Researchers at the University of Miami reported in the March edition of Addiction Biology that daily smoking may reduce immune and virologic responses to highly active antiretroviral therapy by as much as 40%. The scientists studied 54 HIV-positive adults, half of whom had experienced lower respiratory infections, including Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and tuberculosis. They discovered that smoking was linked to higher viral loads and lower CD4-cell counts among the study subjects. Cigarette smoking also was determined to have doubled the risk for developing PCP and significantly boosted the chances of TB infection.