W hen smoke gets in the eyes , its irritating sting may be the least of your clients worries . When they puff on a cigarette , that curling plume of acrid smoke might well signal smouldering eye disease that could literally rob them blind .
Tobacco smoke damages blood vessels in the eye . Toxic chemicals in smoke transform nutrients that feed the eyes and disrupt eye chemistry . Smoking causes a litany of serious eye diseases that most people don ’ t know about .
Smokers are three times more likely to develop age-related macular degeneration , a disease that damages the central area of the retina , creating a blind spot or distortions in central vision . It can steal the ability to drive , to perform fine detail work or to see your loved ones . Macular degeneration is Canada ’ s leading cause of vision loss . Although the degenerative progress of the disease can be stalled there is no cure .
“ Age related macular degeneration is hard to treat . In most cases , you can ’ t treat it ,” says Dr . Ryan Kennedy , a scientist at the Propel Centre for Population Health Impact at the University of Waterloo .
People who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day are two to three times more likely to develop cataracts than non-smokers . Cataracts cloud the lens in eye , causing blurry vision , changes in colour perception and sensitivity to glare .
“ The toxic elements in cigarette smoke destroy the antioxidant nutrients that are essential to lens transparency ,” says Dr . Victor Malinovsky , clinical professor in the School of Optometry at Indiana University .
Smoking damages blood vessels that supply the optic nerve , increasing the risk of glaucoma , the second most common cause of blindness . It is also linked to sudden blindness caused by ischemic optic neuropathy .
“ You can wake up and your vision is gone , or half your field of vision is gone ,” warns Dr . Malinovsky .
While tobacco ’ s effects on vision and ocular health are huge , public awareness is not . Researchers at the
Eye health
up in smoke
by Walter Franczyk