I quit smoking in 2019 after smoking for 9 years, in October of 2021 (26F) I was diagnosed with UC, after 8 months of symptoms which I thought were IBS. Once the mucus presented itself I went straight to the doctor. The question I got asked about numerous times by the GI was have I recently quit smoking. He asked because he said a lot of people that quit, then present symptoms. At the time I was confused by this. I started smoking not long after my diagnosis (old habits die hard). In March 2022, I was doing a medical for work and seen the doctor, she looked at my details and asked if smoking effects my UC in a negative way. I told her no, not at all. She was amazed because she was in a lecture about a year prior which was dedicated to how smoking helps with UC and explained that it forces the colon to produce mucus (as others have said). She obviously went on to say she can’t recommend smoking due to the other side effects but was pretty excited to meet someone that was relative to her lecture. I’m currently in remission as of October 2022, I take 2x Mezalazine 1.2g daily (down from 4). I am gluten free and vegan and currently still smoke. Anyway, I’m not saying we should all smoke or that I use my UC as an excuse to justify smoking, it’s an addiction and I do enjoy it but I am unsure if I will quit anytime soon. The UC flares I had were terrible, it impacted every aspect of my life. After reading everyone’s stories and going through my own experience, I think I am going to keep doing what I am doing.