Smoker's Face - Beauty is Only Skin Deep

Key Points

Smokers tend to look older than non-smokers of the same age. Smokers’ facial skin is more likely than non-smokers to have:wrinkles, crow’s feet and a sallow, yellow-grey colouring. Smokers’ skin can be prematurely aged by between 10 and 20 years. The damaging effects of cigarette smoke on skin are irreversible but it is likely that further deterioration will be avoided by stopping smoking.

The underlying biological changes that lead to ‘smoker’s face are not yet fully understood but may be due to damage to small blood vessels in the skin and to the protein matrix (or architecture) of the skin brought about by cigarette smoke or the toxic chemicals in cigarettes. Smoker’s skin is more likely to slough after surgery than that of non-smokers. The skin ageing effect of cigarette smoke is likely also to result from second-hand smoke albeit at a reduced rate; young people working in bars, clubs and restaurants need to be aware of this potential risk. The use of smoking as a cachet in the modelling and fashion industry is totally incompatible with one of its principal aims – to promote beauty.


Explanations

Cigarette smoking is causally linked to: fifteen types of cancer (lung, lip, mouth, pharynx, larynx, nasal cavity and nasal sinus, oesophagus, pancreas, bladder, stomach, liver,kidney, cervix, myeloid leukaemia), as well as coronary heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive lung disease, peripheral vascular disease, still-birth, low birth weight, sudden infant death, infant mortality, congenital abnormalities and miscarriage.