How smoking and vaping affect your nose and sleep

Smoking and vaping both slow down the nose's built-in cleaning system, and cigarette smoke is a common trigger for congestion. Smokers are also more likely to snore and tend to sleep more lightly. The encouraging part is that the nose seems to recover after people quit, and former smokers in several studies look much like people who never smoked.

What does smoke do to the inside of your nose?

Smoke slows the way your nose clears mucus, the system it uses to trap dirt, germs and other particles. Cleveland Clinic explains that you swallow much of it during the day, which clears that debris out of the nasal passages. The lining of the nose is covered in tiny hairs called cilia that help move the mucus along. Doctors call this mucociliary clearance, and it's often measured with a simple test: a small particle of saccharin is placed inside the nose, and researchers time how long it takes the person to taste sweetness.

A 2015 study in Otolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery compared 30 smokers, 30 non-smokers and 30 ex-smokers. In smokers, mucus clearance was slower, there were fewer ciliated cells relative to mucus-producing cells, and the cilia moved less well. All four measures were significantly worse than in non-smokers. Ex-smokers, on the other hand, showed no significant difference from non-smokers. The authors described it as a preliminary study, but concluded that the changes in smokers appear not to be permanent.

The Sleep Foundation lists smoke from cigarettes, stoves and fireplaces among common triggers for nasal congestion, alongside pollen, pet dander and dust.

Is vaping any easier on your nose?

Vaping isn't much easier on your nose, according to early research. A 2025 study in the Ear, Nose & Throat Journal used the saccharin test on 120 healthy adults: 40 e-cigarette users, 40 cigarette smokers and 40 non-smokers. The test used the same sweet-taste timing described above. Mucus clearance took about 14.1 minutes on average in e-cigarette users and 13.1 minutes in cigarette smokers, compared with 10.8 minutes in non-smokers. Both were significantly slower than non-smokers. The authors concluded that e-cigarette use was linked to impaired nasal clearance, similar to smoking.

It's one study, and the research on vaping and the nose is still thin. But it doesn't support the idea that switching to a vape leaves the nose untouched.

Does secondhand smoke affect the nose?

Secondhand smoke does seem to affect the nose. A 2021 study in the American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy compared 30 adults exposed to passive smoke with 30 who weren't. Mucus clearance averaged 11.1 minutes in the passive smokers and 7.9 minutes in the unexposed group. The passive smokers' turbinates, the tissue ridges inside the nose that swell and shrink, also responded less to a decongestant. The authors concluded that passive smoking can damage the nasal lining.

If you share a home with a smoker, keeping smoke out of the bedroom is a sensible step for your nose.

None of these nose studies measured breathing during sleep, so they don't show directly that smoking pushes people into mouth breathing at night. What they do show is a nasal lining that clears mucus more slowly and, in the passive smoking study, tissue that responds less well to a decongestant. A nose in that state is more likely to feel stuffy, and the Sleep Foundation notes that a stuffy nose at night can leave you breathing through your mouth.

How does smoking affect snoring?

Smoking makes snoring more likely, and smokers snore more. In the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort, 811 adults had overnight sleep studies. After controlling for other factors, current smokers had about 2.3 times the odds of snoring compared with people who had never smoked. Current smokers were also at higher risk of sleep-disordered breathing, and heavy smokers had the highest risk.

Former smokers stood out again. Once the researchers accounted for other factors, past smoking was not linked to snoring or sleep-disordered breathing. The authors suggested that quitting should be considered as part of treating and preventing sleep-disordered breathing.

Snoring has many causes, and smoking is only one. How to stop snoring goes through the others.

Does smoking change how you sleep?

Smoking does change how you sleep, a large study suggests. Researchers in the Sleep Heart Health Study recorded the sleep of 6,400 adults with overnight polysomnography, including 779 current smokers. Compared with never smokers, current smokers took about 5.4 minutes longer to fall asleep and slept about 14 minutes less. They also spent a larger share of the night in light stage 1 sleep and less in deep, slow-wave sleep.

The authors suggested that nicotine, and acute withdrawal from it during the night, may contribute. Former smokers' sleep looked no different from never smokers'. This study only looked at cigarettes, so it doesn't tell us how vaping affects sleep.

How can you help your nose breathe better at night?

Quitting smoking is the step the research points to for helping your nose breathe better at night, and the studies above suggest your nose and your sleep both have room to recover. A doctor or pharmacist can help you choose a way to quit that suits you.

In the meantime, and while you're quitting, a few things can make nights easier on your nose:

1. Keep smoke and vapor out of the bedroom so the air you sleep in stays cleaner.
2. Rinse your nose with saline before bed to help clear mucus. Our guide to using a saline rinse covers the water safety rules.
3. Raise your head with an extra pillow or wedge, which the Sleep Foundation suggests for nighttime congestion.
4. Try a nasal strip. The Sleep Foundation says strips help open the nasal passages to allow more airflow and may help people who get congested at night. How nasal strips work explains the mechanics.

How to unblock your nose before bed has more practical steps.

Can you use mouth tape if you smoke or vape?

On nights when your nose is clear, mouth tape can help you stay a nose breather while you sleep. It keeps your lips together so the air goes through your nose. How to start mouth taping walks through the first week.

The nose has to be open first. A 2025 systematic review in PLOS One found only 10 studies on mouth taping and listed asphyxiation as a potential risk when the nose is blocked. If smoking leaves you congested, work on the nose before adding tape. Take the two-minute nose test and read is mouth taping safe? before you start.

See a doctor if you're congested most of the time, if you snore loudly, or if anyone has noticed you gasp or stop breathing in your sleep.

If you want to try nasal strips, our pick is TitanAir Nasal Strips.

Read next

• Why you wake up with a stuffy nose
• Alcohol and snoring
• Nasal vs. mouth breathing

* This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or health condition. Talk to a qualified healthcare provider about your health.