Smoking and Body Wrinkles

Smoking May Increase Body Wrinkles

Smokers Tend to Have More Wrinkles, and Not Just on Their Face
By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

March 19, 2007 -- Smoking may increase wrinkles on parts of the body other than the face -- even on areas usually covered with clothes.
Cigarette smoking has long been linked to increased facial wrinkles. A new study shows that that may also be true of the rest of the body.
Yolanda Helfrich, MD, and colleagues studied 82 people at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor's dermatology clinic.
Participants were 22-91 years old (average age: 56). Most were white; 41 had a history of smoking.
Helfrich's team interviewed participants about smoking, sun exposure, sunscreen use, tanning, and other lifestyle factors.
A medical photographer took pictures of each participant's upper inner arm.
The photos were reviewed by three judges (two dermatology residents and one medical student) who didn't know which participants were smokers.
The judges used a nine-point scale developed by Helfrich's team. A rating of 0 indicated no fine wrinkling; severe fine wrinkling yielded the maximum score of 8.
Smoking and Wrinkles
Nearly two-thirds of the participants had low wrinkle scores ranging from 0-2 points. Smokers generally had the highest scores, indicating deeper wrinkles.
The wrinkle risk was particularly strong for people who had smoked heavily for many years.
"We examined nonfacial skin that was protected from the sun, and found that the total number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day and the total years a person has smoked were linked with the amount of skin damage a person experienced," Helfrich says in a University of Michigan news release.
The study doesn't prove that smoking caused or worsened wrinkles. But the results held when the researchers took other factors, including participants' age, into account.
The study appears in the Archives of Dermatology

September 8, 2008

Stop Smoking to Stop Wrinkles

Can smoking cause wrinkles? According to many experts, the answer is yes because it accelerates the normal aging process of your skin and contributes to wrinkles from appearing.
You will not be able to see the direct effects of smoking immediately but it can after you have smoked for 10 years or so. The bad news is that this is irreversible.
Smoking is ranked only second to sun exposure as the leading cause of wrinkles. It interferes with the absorption of Vitamin A and C both of which provide us with skin protection. This is because nicotine, the main ingredient in cigarettes, promotes dehydration.
It also narrows the blood vessels in the outermost layers of the skin. This impairs blood flow depleting it of oxygen and important nutrients such as Vitamin A. It also damages collagen and elastin. These are both fibers that give your skin its strength and elasticity making it sag and wrinkle prematurely.
The heat from the cigarette causes irritation around the eyes and forces the smoker to squint more. This leads to increased wrinkles especially around the eyes. You will also develop hollowed cheeks around the mouth from many years of dragging this in between your lips.
This has also led doctors to believe that there is a relationship between wrinkles in the mouth and COPD or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as this may to airflow obstruction.
Aside from the wrinkles forming on your face, this will also be evident in other parts of the body including the inner arms even if these areas are covered by your clothes.
If you have been smoking for a very long time, someone who is in their 30's may have similar wrinkles to a nonsmoker who is already in his or her 50's.
So what is the morale of the story? Well, naturally quit smoking because no amount of anti-aging cream in the market will remove the wrinkles caused by cigarette smoking. Given that this vice is a habit, this is easier said than done so a lot of experts suggest that this should be done gradually.
If you fail to do so, you are just wasting time buying creams and moisturizers or even undergoing treatment with the help of a dermatologist because this will soon come back. What is worse is that these are very pricey.
If you are able to quit smoking, it also has other health benefits such as adding a few more years to your life and prevents you from being diagnosed with lung cancer and smoke related diseases in the future.
Aside from giving up this habit, you should also start by focusing on a healthy diet and exercise regularly. This will help bring blood to the surface of the skin and begin to replenish the capillaries with oxygen.
You should also avoid drinking alcohol or caffeine as this also dehydrates the skin. To make sure you get your daily dose of Vitamin A and C, go take some food supplements.
Smoking causes wrinkles and other health related problems the longer you stick to this vice. Why should you wait before it is too late when you can look your age? If you can, stop smoking right now because there are worse things than can happen aside from having wrinkles and your skin sag.