Smoking is bad for health. However, others are not to keen to heed this warning. Perhaps, knowing how tobacco smoking damages the skin can help some smokers to quit the habit.
How Smoking Ruins the Skin? How Does it Affect Skin Health?
1. Smoking damages the skin by breaking down a group of proteins called collagen. Note that collagen is a major constituent of skin and other fibrous tissues.
2. It also impairs the ability of the body to produce or synthesize collagen. Overall, smoking leads to sagging skin and wrinkles because it accelerates skin aging.
3. Nicotine narrows the blood vessels. A narrowed blood vessel reduces the flow of nutrition to the skin. This results in dull complexion, impaired skin repair, and development of ischemia.
4. Chemicals in burning tobacco such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide deprive the skin of oxygen and nutrients needed for repair and regeneration.
5. There is a hypothesis that nicotine promotes the activity of cells called melanocytes. This leads to abnormal production of melanin and thus, dull and uneven skin tone.
6. Smoking also reduces the hemoglobin content of the skin because of restricted blood flow. Hemoglobin contributes to a healthy skin complexion.
7. Inflammation and autoimmune diseases have been linked to smoking. Diseases such as eczema, psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and hidradenitis suppurativa have been linked to smoking.
A long-form and detailed version of this article appears on Profolus.com authored by Giovanni Alesio with the title “Studies: How Smoking Affects the Skin?”
