Smoking and Immunity: an Additional Player in the Mosaic of Autoimmunity

Autoimmune diseases are associated with a variety of predisposing factors. However, the relative contribution of each remains to be established. The purpose of the paper is to focus on cigarette smoking, a common Western habit, as a possible environmental factor for the emergence of autoimmunity. This association is described in view of several recent studies documenting increased susceptibility to autoimmune diseases among smokers.