Is Smoking the Cause of Macular Degeneration? Possible Cigarette Smoking Effects On Your 20 20 Vision
Is smoking a cause of macular degeneration?
Smoking facts reveal that age related macular degeneration could be among the many harmful
cigarette smoking effects on the body that could lead to permanent loss of your 20 20 vision.
What is 20/20 vision?
In ordinary everyday language 20/20 vision just means normal vision.
It is a measurement of how well you can see objects at a distance of 20 feet
measured against human "norms" established by collecting information about a lot of people and the size of
objects that most of them could see at a distance of twenty feet.
In metric it is called 6/6 vision.
The macula of the eye is an area on the retina. The health of the macula is essential for accurate vision.
Macular degeneration refers to the decline in health of this area of the eye and the loss of vision that is associated with these changes.
When this area of the eye starts to deteriorate vision in the centre of the visual field is lost first so the results of macular degeneration are
usually noticeable quite early.
Deterioration in the health of the macula is the leading cause of vision loss in people over 55 years of age in both Canada, Australia, the UK, and the US.
Smoking Facts
some estimates are that 30% of people over the age of 70 have some signs of age related macular degeneration.
there is an ever increasing body of evidence in published studies that smoking is a significant cause of macular degeneration.
the risk of macular degeneration is two to three times higher in smokers than in people who have never smoked.
quitting smoking has a protective effect but does not eliminate the risk of AMD altogether.
smoking is listed as the cause of macular degeneration in the severe form which causes vision loss very quickly
the list of factors that cause cataracts and age related macular degeneration are very similar and smoking is included on both those lists.
Conflicting Smoking Facts - Discussion
The US General Surgeons report in 2004 examined the evidence of the smoking effects on the body and these are two conclusions.
"14.The evidence is suggestive but not sufficient to infer a causal relationship between current and past smoking, especially heavy smoking, with risk of exudative (neovascular) age-related macular degeneration.
15.The evidence is suggestive but not sufficient to infer a causal relationship between smoking and atrophic age-related macular degeneration."
p 12 - Executive Summary
The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General
May 27, 2004
However, the report was compiled with data published before 2004. Other governments have since reached different conclusions.
The government of Australia is convinced that smoking is a cause of macular degeneration and has
produced this public service video to educate its citizens.
"Studies show that tobacco smoking is an important risk factor in the early onset of an eye disease
called Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). This disease causes serious and permanent loss of
central vision."
"There are also a number of other factors, such as smoking,
that can increase a person's risk of developing AMD."
Even if you ignore the smoking facts can you really ignore logical reason?
When the smoking facts show that there are so many harmful smoking effects on the body caused by
the many toxic cigarette ingredients does it make any sense at all that smoking does not contribute to vision loss?
The question is not whether smoking is the cause of macular degeneration.
The real and most important question is why would you continue to smoke cigarettes even if there is a remote chance it will cause vision loss?
But then, logical reasoning is not part of how you got started or why you continue with your smoking addiction.
The purpose of the information provided here is to help you cooperate with your doctor and other
health practitioners. It is not intended to take the place of medical advice and you are encouraged to
discuss health concerns with your physician or a professional health care provider who is
familiar with you and your unique personal health context.
