How smoking affects your sight
by Linksfield Optometrist
While most of us know that smoking can lead to lung cancer, heart disease and stroke, amongst other health challenges, few are aware of the serious risks smoking poses to eye health. Here’s how smoking can impact your sight, plus the benefits of quitting…
Smoking and eye health
Smoking can impact your eye health in several ways. Firstly, smoking can increase the risk of developing age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is a leading cause of vision loss in people over 50. Smoking can also make the condition worse by damaging the retina, which can cause central vision loss. A 2019 study of people with AMD found that current smokers developed AMD 5.5 years earlier, on average, than people who had never smoked.
Secondly, smoking can harm the optic nerve, which transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. When the optic nerve is damaged, it can cause vision loss, particularly in the peripheral (side) vision.
Thirdly, smoking can increase the risk of developing dry eye syndrome, a condition that causes eye discomfort and irritation.
Developing cataracts is also more likely if you smoke – a condition that clouds the lens of the eye and can lead to blurred vision and difficulty seeing at night.
Smoking damages the blood vessels throughout the body, including the eyes, and it is thought that smoking also reduces the absorption of protective nutrients to the eyes.
Another disease, with a link to smoking, affects the part of the eye called the uvea. This is the middle layer of the eye wall. Uveitis is when this layer becomes inflamed, causing red-eye, pain and vision problems.
Lastly, second-hand smoke can affect the people around you. Studies suggest that children as young as six years old, for instance, already show signs of eye damage due to second-hand smoke.
“A 2019 study of people with AMD found that current smokers developed AMD 5.5 years earlier, on average, than people who had never smoked.”
Quitting smoking
Although quitting smoking can be challenging, it is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Not only can quitting reduce the risk of developing dry eye syndrome, cataracts and AMD, quitting smoking can slow down the progression of AMD in people who already have the condition.
In fact, quitting smoking can have a positive impact on your overall health and reduce the risk of lung cancer, heart disease, stroke and respiratory infections.
It can also improve circulation, which can improve eye health and reduce the risk of developing vision problems.
If you’re having trouble quitting, talk to your doctor or a smoking cessation specialist who can help you with a plan to quit smoking for good.