Hello dear.

yes  long time smoking can cause secondary erythrocytosis and polycythaemia , due to hypoxia induced increased in EPO , in COPD Patients

Hemoglobin lies at the core of each red blood cell. It grabs onto oxygen in the lungs and disperses it throughout the body. Red-cell numbers normally reflect rises and falls of hemoglobin counts. High hemoglobin often occurs in cigarette smokers. Carbon monoxide in the smoke blocks oxygen attachment to the red cells' empty hemoglobin slots results  increased  EPO. The body panics, interpreting low hemoglobin as a signal to increase red cell production. Hemoglobin rises, and so do red cells.If quit smoke,then all should return to normal in short order. 

Thanks Fatima & Abdul for valuable feed.         Regards

Great observation, is there any case control study on this.

Regards,

Omesh

Dear Omesh ,

 Patient  with the Hb% 19.6 % came to us for therapeutic Vein-puncture. All possibilities of his high Hb% were rule out by physicians    and pathologist and ultimately they concluded that  his high Hb% was due to  his chronic smoking.

Reference is  

JAMA. 1990 Sep 26;264(12):1556-9.

The effect of cigarette smoking on hemoglobin levels and anemia screening.

Nordenberg D1, Yip R, Binkin NJ.

It's thrilling to know that since my relatives have the same and I was looking for the reason since long.

Thanks and. Regards,

Omesh

Dear Omesh,

Thanks and further query is welcomed.

Regards

Yes, cigarette smokers often have a high hemoglobin levels. In fact the kidney produces erythropoietin hormone that signals the body to produce more erythrocytes. One of the components of smoke is carbon monoxide (CO) which binds to haemoglobin with greater affinity than oxygen. After smoking the carbon monoxide-haemoglobin causes the kidney to detect less oxygen, hypoxia, thus producing more erythrocytes. This elevates haemoglobin levels of blood. Please take a look at the following references.

Article Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Haematological Parameters in ...

Article The effects of cigarette smoking on hemoglobin levels compar...

Article Blood haemoglobin concentrations are higher in smokers and h...

Article The Effect of Smoking on the Blood Parameters of Young Adults

Smoking is associated with increase in the haemoglobin levels and the severity of polycythemia.

Article Association between cigarette & shisha smoking and the sever...

Cigarette smoking on a regular basis raises erythrocyte count, haemoglobin concentration, and hematocrit.

Indeed, this will help Article The Effect of Cigarette Smoking on Hemoglobin Levels and Ane...

Thanks to all colleagues for contribution