Are you a diabetic? Do you smoke? Do people around you smoke? We all know smoking is a direct cause of cancer but if you have diabetes smoking - including passive smoking - leads to other health problems...

Here are 7 reasons why mixing diabetes with smoking is a very bad idea:

1) You are more likely to get nerve damage (neuropathy). If this happens to be in your feet it could lead to infections and, if not taken care of properly, even amputation.

2) You could develop kidney disease.

3) When you smoke your blood pressure increases.

4) Diabetics who smoke increase, 3-fold, the risk of dying of heart (cardiovascular) disease.

5) By smoking you increase your blood-sugar levels, making it more difficult to control your diabetes, which in turn leads to other problems.

6) And it increases your cholesterol levels, which increases the risk of a heart attack.

7) Doubles your chances of getting limited mobility in your joints. It's no fun trying to bend, climb stairs or lift something when you have a painful joint.

In fact smoking - and passive smoking - have a seriously detrimental effect on the ABC's of diabetes management:

A1C - the measurement of your blood glucose over a 3-month period

B - your blood pressure, which should be below 130/80

C - your cholesterol levels

And, of course, on top of all that there is the risk of cancer!