Smoking Effects On Skin

Smoking can cause premature aging of the skin by restricting the blood vessels in the outermost layers of the skin. This reduces blood flow to your skin, depleting it of oxygen and other important nutrients such as Vitamin A, which provides protection against skin damaging radicals.

Smoking also damages collagen and elastin, which are fibers in your skin that give it strength and elasticity.

Smoking not only affects your facial skin, but has been known to affect skin on other parts of your body such as your inner arms.

Also, the “smokers face,” which are the facial expressions made while smoking (such as the pursing of the lips and the squinting of the eyes when smoking) can add to wrinkles around the eyes and mouth as well as the development of hollow cheeks, more prevalent in underweight smokers.

Oral health Tobacco is a major contributor to dental health problems. Tar from cigarettes deposit onto the teeth causing discoloration and stains. Tobacco is a main factor in gum disease. In fact, smokers are four times more likely to suffer from advanced periodontal disease than those who have never smoked. Tobacco can damage your gum tissue by affecting the attachment of bone and soft tissue to your teeth. Tobacco reduces blood flow to your gums, depriving them of oxygen and nutrients that allow them to stay healthy. The same effects occur on skin tissue. This makes your gums more vulnerable to bacterial infection like periodontal disease. Tobacco chemicals have also been shown to hinder healing in patients with oral inflammation, oral wounds, or after oral surgery by weakening the immune system, making smokers more likely to lose teeth and not respond to treatment.

Smokers are also six times as likely as non smokers to develop cancers of the mouth and throat. Smoking also tends to irritate the throat, giving smokers problems with coughing, hoarseness, and difficulty in swallowing. Arms and Legs Smoking can damage blood vessels in your heart, making it difficult for the heart to pump blood to the hands and feet, causing poor blood circulation.

Smoking has been known to be a major factor in Buerger’s disease. Buerger’s disease is a disease of the arteries and veins in the arms and legs. It is characterized by a combination of inflammation and clots in blood vessels which impair blood flow. This eventually damages and destroys tissues, leading to infection and gangrene. Poor blood circulation can also lead to peripheral vascular disease in the legs, feet, arms, and hands. Both of these diseases may result in severe pain and can lead to amputation.