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Generality/Definition

• Listen / Stop:
  Smoking can cause or worsen several eye disorders, particularly cataract and Age-related Macular Degeneration(AMD), and may lead to blindness.
  Tobacco smoke is composed of as many as 4,000 active compounds, most of them toxic and potentially damaging to the eye.
  Source: ASH - Action on Smoking and Health UK (ash.org.uk)
  

Epidemiology

• Listen / Stop:
  
  Among smokers age 35 to 69 smoking accounts for a three fold increase in the death rate, and approximately half of all regular smokers that begin smoking during adolescence will be killed by tobacco(Who).
  In 1985 it was estimated that more than one in every six deaths in the USA was the result of smoking.
  Smokers have more acute and chronic illnesses than never smokers, more bed disability days, and miss more school and work days .
  Smokers make greater use of inpatient and outpatient hospital services and lower use of preventive care services (Sherman).
  Of all cancer deaths in the USA, 30% could be prevented if cigarette smoking was eliminated.
  
  Source: The Health Consequences of Smoking (sprojects.mmi.mcgill.ca)
  

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Listen / Stop: 13 million smokers in the UK are doubling their chances of sight loss in later life according to definitive new research published on RNIB. Around 500,000 people in the UK have AMD and an estimated 54,000 people have the condition as a result of smoking. Source: Smoking and sight loss (rnib.org.uk)

Prevention

• Listen / Stop:
  Stopping smoking can halt or reverse damage to the eyes, depending on the severity and type of disease.
  In the case of AMD, former smokers have only a slightly increased risk compared with never smokers. Stopping smoking reduces the risk of developing cataracts. A US study found that, compared with men who continued to smoke, those who had quit 10 years or less before study entry had an approximately 20% reduced risk of cataract diagnosis.
  Source: ASH - Action on Smoking and Health UK (ash.org.uk)
  

Symptoms

• Listen / Stop:
  
  Cataracts : Studies have shown that people who quit smoking earlier (rather than later) decrease their risk of developing cataracts.
  Diabetic Retinopathy : Study results appear mixed about a direct association between smoking and diabetic retinopathy, but most experts agree that smoking should be avoided to help help stop progression of the disease.
  Glaucoma :Smoking causes shrinkage or constriction of blood vessels, shown to be directly linked to rising inner eye pressure (intraocular pressure) that can lead to glaucoma and accompanying optic nerve damage.
  Graves ophthalmopathy : This is a condition in which muscle control of the eye is disrupted, often associated with thyroid disease. Smoking has been shown to increase risk of developing thyroid disease.
  Optic neuritis : A landmark study found a strong association between factors such as poor nutrition and smoking linked to a 1992-1993 epidemic of optic nerve damage among Cuban citizens.
  Source: Smoking and Eye Damage (vision.about.com)
  

Treatment

• Listen / Stop:
  There are three types of pharmaceutical products to help you quit:
  nicotine replacement therapy
  buproprion (Zyban)
  varenicline (Champix).
  
  Source: Medicines to help you quit (netdoctor.co.uk)
  

Illustrations

Source: Home of Health Promotion North Staffordshire (hpromo.northstaffs.nhs.uk)

Association

• Listen / Stop:
  Tobacco Control ressource centre.
  Source: Tobacco Control Resource Centre (tobacco-control.org)
  

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Listen / Stop: Non-Smokers' Rights Association Source: (nsra-adnf.ca)

Scientific articles: All recent articles for "Tobacco"