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Quit Smoking
Articles
Smoking
Can
Cause Blindness
Several studies
have proven that smoking can actually cause progressive vision
problems and may eventually lead to blindness.
Age-related
Macular Degeneration or AMD is a major cause of irreversible vision
loss, especially among the elderly. Unfortunately for smokers, the
risk of developing AMD can be doubled or more. This was revealed in
The Journal of the American Medical Association in October 1996.
Smoking can cause
poor blood flow to the retina, the light sensitive area of the eye,
and low levels of antioxidants in the bloodstream. Both these factors
contribute to developing AMD.
Because there are
little options to treat AMD, quitting smoking is the main control
measure at this point in time.
Smoking has also
been linked with the development of cataracts. Cataracts causes the
lens of the eye to become opaque (not allowing light to pass through)
and this may result in impaired vision or even blindness!
Another aspect of
vision is color perception. One study discovered that smokers who
smoked over 20 cigarettes a day may have color perception deficits and
develop problems such as color blindness.
**References
National Center For Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Journal of American Medical Association
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