How Does Smoking Affect My Risk Of Developing High Blood Pressure?

— -- Question: How does smoking affect my risk of developing high blood pressure?

Answer: Interestingly, smoking probably doesn't increase risk of high blood pressure in the long term. However, smoking does compound the risk of high blood pressure so that those who smoke and have high blood pressure are at extremely high risk for heart attack and stroke in the long term.

Of interest, smoking one cigarette does increase your blood pressure in the short term, say for the first hour or two after you smoke a cigarette. So there are some interplays, some interactions between smoking and high blood pressure.