The health dangers associated with tobacco use, especially through cigarettes, are well documented, but there is one risk in particular that most smokers ignore: blindness.
Despite experts warning that millions of people who continue to smoke are putting their eyes at risk, only one in five people are aware that they could go blind, according to a survey by the Association of Optometrists in the UK (AOP).
Smokers are twice as likely to lose their sight compared to non-smokers.
That’s because tobacco smoke can cause and worsen many eye conditions, says the Royal Institute of Blind People, a charity that provides support and information for blind people in the UK.
How smoke damages your eyes
Cigarette smoke contains toxic chemicals that can irritate and damage the eyes of both active and passive smokers.
The American Academy of Ophthalmology also draws attention to the problems that can be aggravated by cigarette, cigar, and pipe smoke. These are some of them:
– Dry eye syndrome
It is a discomfort of itching and roughness with the movement of the eyelid over the eye as if there were a foreign particle.
Many factors cause this condition and the smoke concentrated in the air ends up irritating the eyes and causing an imbalance in the natural tears they secrete.
As a result, the eye becomes red and vision becomes less clear. In extreme cases, scarring of the cornea can occur, particularly if the problem is long-standing.
– Waterfalls
Heavy metals, such as lead and copper, can deposit in the lens – the transparent structure behind the pupil that receives and focuses light rays – and cause cataracts, a clouding of the lens.
Cataracts cloud vision and make colors appear dull, faded, or yellowish. Surgery is necessary to correct this condition.
– Diabetic retinopathy
Smoking can worsen diabetes-related vision problems by damaging blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye.
Damaged blood vessels result in blurred, distorted vision and possibly blindness.
– Age-related macular degeneration
Smokers are three times more likely to develop this condition that affects central vision and reduces an individual’s ability to distinguish fine details.
Peripheral vision is not affected by macular degeneration. Although the progression of this disease can be slowed with medication, there is no cure.
– Optic neuropathy
Smokers are 16 times more likely than non-smokers to experience sudden vision loss caused by optic neuropathy when blood flow to the eye is blocked. It can result in permanent blindness.
In addition, smoking increases the risk factors for glaucoma, a disease that affects the optic nerve.
– Uveitis
Smoking can cause a disease that affects a part of the middle layer of the wall of the eye, located between the sclera on the outside and the retina on the inside. When this layer becomes inflamed it is called uveitis and affects the iris and the ciliary body.
The disease causes red eyes, pain, and vision problems.
Warning to mothers
The Academy of Ophthalmology also explains how pregnant women who smoke can affect their babies’ eyes.
In these circumstances, infants are five times more likely to contract bacterial meningitis, which causes inflammation of the membranes that cover the brain. Meningitis can lead to eye infections and other vision problems.
Smoking during pregnancy also increases the risk of premature birth, which in turn leads to a serious eye problem called “retinopathy of prematurity.” The baby could have vision loss or permanent blindness .
In a survey of 2,006 adults by the Association of Optometrists in the United Kingdom (AOP), only 18% correctly answered that smoking increased the risk of blindness or vision loss, while 76% knew it was linked to cancer.
The AOP and the American Academy of Ophthalmology recommend both reducing smoking and avoiding secondhand smoke.
They say that quitting smoking altogether is one of the best investments you can make to ensure healthy vision in the long term.
Aishah Fazlanie, optometrist and AOP clinical advisor said: “People tend to be aware of the link between smoking and cancer, but many are not aware of the impact smoking can have on vision.”
According to the World Health Organization, 1.1 billion people in the world smoke tobacco, 145 million of them are in Latin America, with Bolivia, Chile, and Cuba among the highest smoking rates, and Panama the lowest.
Many more men than women smoke.
Although tobacco consumption has declined in several countries, it is increasing in the developing world, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa.
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