Smoking has long been known to cause lung cancer and heart disease; however, many people do not realize that smoking can cause vision loss too. Studies show that smoking increases the risk of age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), cataract, glaucoma and dry eyes. Cigarette smoke is composed of various toxic chemical particles including nicotine, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. These can adversely affect health by causing diseases and by decreasing the efficacy of drugs or altering the immune response.
Cigarette smoking has also been linked to causing various ocular diseases such as cataract and ARMD, which are leading causes of visual impairment and blindness worldwide. Various studies have proven that smoking causes cataract, and that the risk of cataract is high among smokers, when compared with non-smokers. ARMD causes irreversible blindness since it affects the macula, which…
