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Category : General Advice
Saturday, May 31. 2014
Can smoking cause wrinkles or even skin cancer? YES
I am often surprised that my patients don’t know the relationship between smoking and wrinkles. The plus 4000 carcinogenic and mutagenic chemicals in tobacco smoke cause degradation of Collagen. The skin loses its elastic fibers and skin laxity ensues. Please read the Mayo article below by Dr. Dale.
I live in a large metropolitan city (Los Angeles) and see the smog and dirt in the air and on my skin. Adding smoking to this will shave off 5-10 years off your life AND make you look another 5-10 years older! Is it worth it?
Dr. R.
Is it true that smoking causes wrinkles?
Answers from Lowell Dale, M.D.
Yes. So if you need another reason to motivate you to quit smoking, add premature wrinkles to the list.
(read more)
Smoking can speed up the normal aging process of your skin, contributing to wrinkles. These skin changes may occur after only 10 years of smoking. The more cigarettes you smoke and the longer you smoke, the more skin wrinkling you're likely to have — even though the early skin damage from smoking may be hard for you to see.
And smoking doesn't cause wrinkles only on your face. Smoking also is associated with increased wrinkling and skin damage on other parts of your body, including your inner arms. While the skin wrinkles may not be reversible, you can prevent worsening of wrinkling by quitting smoking now.
How does smoking lead to wrinkles? The nicotine in cigarettes causes narrowing of the blood vessels in the outermost layers of your skin. This impairs blood flow to your skin. With less blood flow, your skin doesn't get as much oxygen and important nutrients, such as vitamin A. Many of the more than 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke also damage collagen and elastin, which are fibers that give your skin its strength and elasticity. As a result, skin begins to sag and wrinkle prematurely because of smoking.
In addition, repeated exposure to the heat from burning cigarettes and the facial expressions you make when smoking — such as pursing your lips when inhaling and squinting your eyes to keep out smoke — may contribute to wrinkles.
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