SMOKING LINKED TO BLINDNESS

Posted by Neill Abayon

British researchers said that smokers are up to four-times as likely to become blind

in later life from age-related mascular degenaration.
Unfortunately,many smokers remain largely unaware of this risk, the researchers said

in the British Medical Journal.
AMD is the most common cause of adult blindness, which results in severe

irreversible loss of of central vision. As many as one in five cases of AMD might be linked

to smoking. Evidence also shows that quitting smoking slower the development of AMD, while

continued smoking can affect the long-term response to treatments such as laser therapy.