HYDERABAD: Smoking contributes to a number of major health problems including heart disease,stroke,cancer but many people don’t know that smoking also affects your vision. the survey shows 9 among 10 Indians try to quit smoking but fails.Cigarette smoke contains 4,000 chemicals including 43 known carcinogenic agents like nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide,hydrogen cyanide arsenic, DDT, formaldehyde and 400 other toxins.
Effects on eyes: smoking significantly increase the risk of developing cataracts (cloudiness of vision), and risk continues to increase the more you smoke.
Age related macular degeneration (AMD) affects the centre of the retina, which is responsible for sharp central vision such as reading and driving. AMD causes blind spots impairs central vision and permanent loss of vision. Studies shows smokers can have a three fold increase risk of AMD compared with who never smoked.
Uveitis (inflammation of the middle layer of eye or uvea) is a serious eye disease that can result in complete vision loss. It can affects vital structures of eye including iris and retina and can lead to cataract, glaucoma, retinal detachment. There are 2 to 3 times greater risk of uveitis when compared with nonsmokers.
Diabetic retinopathy damages the blood vessels of the retina and result of vision loss. Smoking doubles the risk of diabetes. Women who smoke during pregnancy transmit dangerous toxins to the placenta,potentially harming the unborn child and increase the risk of many fetal and infantile eye disorders, such as strabismus (crossed eye),under developed optic nerve and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) which leading cause of blindness in children. Tobacco smoke is known as eye irritant and worsen dry eye syndrome particularly in contact lens wearer. people who smoke are nearly twice as likely to have dry eyes.
Avoid smoking is the best option. The good news is that after people quit smoking their risk for some eye disease become almost as low as for people who never smoked.
The author is senior consultant at MaxiVision Super Specialty eye hospitals, Hyderabad
