Smoking causes a host of diseases, but what you may not know is that the chemicals in cigarette smoke damage the tissues of your eyes and may result in blindness or visual impairment. In fact, a report from the European Eye Study, published in 2006 in "The Guardian" newspaper, finds that 27 percent of people with eye disease can directly attribute it to smoking.
Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Age-related macular degeneration, or AMD, is a degenerative retinal eye disease that causes irreversible central vision loss. It is the most common form of blindness caused by smoking, affecting more than 10 million Americans. The disease can surface in two forms, "dry" and "wet." The dry type of AMD results in a thinning of the macula, and the wet type is caused by fluid leakage in the eye. Chemicals from tobacco smoke damage the retina, resulting in premature aging of the eye.
Statistics
The most preventable risk factor for developing AMD is cigarette smoking. Smokers are two to four times more likely to develop AMD compared with past smokers or nonsmokers, and smokers may develop the disease 10 to 15 years earlier than a nonsmoker would develop it. In fact, the more you smoke, the greater your risk and the faster the progression of AMD is likely to be, according to "Medical News Today." In the case of AMD, people who have a genetic predisposition to the disease increase their risk by eight fold if they smoke.
Evidence
The link between AMD and smoking has been proven by many studies. A study published in the "British Journal of Ophthalmology" in April 2005 showed that those who smoked were twice as likely to have AMD as nonsmokers. Other similar studies have shown this risk to be three to four times as high. Studies have also confirmed that people who stopped smoking more than 20 years ago have a similar risk of developing AMD as nonsmokers and that the risk declines after 10 years of not smoking. A United Kingdom study published in the "British Journal of Ophthalmology" in January 2006 suggests a link between the number of packs smoked and the likelihood of developing AMD.
Cataracts
Heavy smokers--those who smoke 15 or more cigarettes a day--are up to three times more likely to develop cataracts than nonsmokers, according to a 2009 article in "Eye Digest." This is because smoking is thought to increase the oxidative stress on the lens. Oxidative stress is caused by free radicals, which are produced by tobacco smoke, and may damage the proteins and fiber cell membranes in the lens. A 2002 study published in the "American Journal of Epidemiology" found that healing damage caused by smoking occurs at a modest pace. According to the study, people who had quit smoking 25 or more years in the past had a 20 percent lower risk of cataracts than current smokers.
Treatment
No cure for AMD exists, but cataracts can be removed, significantly improving eyesight that is impaired or lost due to smoking. Additionally, a study by the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston in 2006 found that people who increased their consumption of fish to at least two or more servings a week reduced their risk of getting AMD.
References
- "Archives of Ophthalmology": Cigarette Smoking, Fish Consumption, Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intake, and Associations With Age-Related Macular Degeneration
- American Journal of Epidemiology": Smoking Cessation and Risk of Cataract Extraction among U.S. Women and Men
- "The Guardian": Smoking can blind you, say doctors
- "Medical News Today": Smoking Causes Blindness
- "The Eye Digest": University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary
