Why do smokers feel colder than nonsmokers (or do they)?

Question

I remember hearing something like this, that smokers feel colder than non-smokers, something about that "it thins your blood" or something, I'm not 100% sure.

Does anyone know? Anyone have any scientific details to go along with that? Blood getting thinner sounds a bit strange to me anyhow, would more water add to the blood or something? Sounds silly.

Or is this whole thing just a "wive's tale"?

Answer 1

Smoking shrinks the blood vessels and less blood can get through , making smoker cold.

Answer 2

your arteries become blocked so the blood finds it hard to flow around Ur body and puts Ur heart under pressure that can cause heart problems !! smokers are putting their body's under a lot of pressure from blocked arteries heart problems to poor circulation ( poor circulation is why they feel cold ) poor circulation can lead to extensive health problems . people that have poor circulation take a special aspirin that thins the blood it is different from the aspirin you buy over the counter as if you took the other the counter aspirin every day for the rest of your live you would end up with a stomach ulcer

Answer 3

Cammie is right- it causes peripheral vascular disease (amongst numerous other diseases). Thus the blood flow is restricted and the smoker feels cold especially in the fingers and toes.

On average, smokers feel these symptoms 10 years earlier than nonsmokers.

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4692

Answer 4

I think an old wives' tale -- I smoke, and the nonsmokers around me frequently complain of it being too cold (such as in conference rooms) when I'm perfectly comfortable. I think it's more likely to be an individual thing unrelated to smoking -- how good a person's circulation is, and what temperatures they find comfortable.

Answer 5

I never thought about it, but I would think that a smoker's lungs might not be as efficient and therefore the blood might not flow to the extremities.