Vision and Smoking
Not only does cigarette smoking present the risks of serious cancers, heart disease, high cholesterol, poor calcium absorption, and premature aging to the skin, but is also now being linked to visual problems too.
Consider the likelihood of the development of Macular Degeneration or AMD in the smoker. This is the leading cause of blindness in those over the age of 65 and it is the only cause for the issue that can be entirely avoided.
Macular Degeneration is the process by which the macula (a part of the retina) deteriorates and leads to ever increasing visual problems. Eventually the individual will be unable to see out of one or both eyes.
It has been determined that a smoker will have less than half of the macular pigment density of a non-smoker. This is part of the groundwork that leads to both traditional and age-related Macular Degeneration. Generally, the more someone has smoked and continues to smoke, then the worse the degeneration of the cells. Even an end to smoking is not going to improve the condition once it begins. Even secondhand smoke can contribute to the problems that lead to the development of Macular Degeneration or AMD too.
Smoking interferes with several other major processes in the eye as well, including a reduction of carotenoid concentrations in the blood. These are groups of major antioxidants that are known to fight cancer. When related to vision, however, they are the major forces for repairing any kind of damage in the eye due to oxidative stress.
Oxidative stress is the result of the eye being unable to maintain a “reducing environment” within it cells, and this due to the effects of smoking, the pressure on all of the vascular vessels, and the resultant damage and stress to all of cells in the eyes.
Even someone who ate a fantastically healthy diet, exercised regularly, and avoided any other bad habits would still suffer from the loss of vital carotenoid concentrations or antioxidants in their eyes.
What this really means is that a smoker is increasing the likelihood of damage to their eyes while simultaneously decreasing their eye’s ability to correct and heal the damage.
When a smoker decides to quit they should make a point of visiting their physician and discussing an assessment of their vision to determine if any signs of disease are present. There are many smoking cessation aids and there are many advanced treatments that can help to alleviate vision damage created by smoking too.
