How does smoking affect your eyes?

Tobacco can stain the skin, but smokers are more likely to notice changes to the appearance of their eyes like redness, irritation, and puffiness. Symptoms of dry eyes syndrome and allergies can also be worse for smokers.

Smoke consists of water, gas, and tiny particles. The tiny particles in smoke can irritate the eye's surface, and the instinct to rub your eyes when they're irritated can make this worse. Smoke can also make the air around you drier, so it's harder for your eyes to stay moist.

If you get smoke in your eyes, you can experience symptoms such as:

• Eye irritation
• A burning sensation
• Redness
• Watery eyes
• Dry eyes
• Eye infection

Artificial tears help relieve symptoms, but if problems persist, see your optician, who can examine your eyes and rule out other causes.

Age-related macular degeneration affects the macula at the back of the eye. The macula is essential to our central vision, used for activities like reading and driving. There's no cure for age-related macular degeneration, which can lead to central vision loss. People who smoke are between two and three and a half times greater risk of developing age-related macular degeneration than non-smokers (Source: Eye) and may develop the condition earlier. Smoking is the most significant risk factor that you can control. Stopping smoking can lower the risk of developing the condition and slow its progression if you already have it.

Diabetic retinopathy develops when high blood sugar levels damage blood vessels in the eye. People with diabetes who smoke can have increased blood pressure and blood sugar levels, which increase the chance of developing diabetic retinopathy, and can make the condition worse over time.

Optic neuropathy is caused by a blockage in the blood vessels to the eye and can cause permanent loss of vision. Smokers are 16 times more likely to develop this, and from an earlier age, than non-smokers (Source: NHS).

Optic neuritis is caused by inflammation in the optic nerve at the back of the eye. Smoking may make optic neuritis worse, as tobacco smoke restricts the oxygen supply to the eye (Source: NHS).

Uveitis is inflammation of the middle layer of the eye (the uvea). Smokers are at significantly increased risk of all types of uveitis compared with people who have never smoked (Source: Ophthalmology).

Dry eye happens when there aren't enough tears to lubricate the eye to keep it comfortable and healthy. Dry eye causes redness, itchiness, and irritation. Because tobacco is an irritant, it can make dry eye worse.

Smokers who wear contact lenses may have more irritation and dry eye problems.

Nystagmus describes involuntary rapid eye movements. Smokers are thought to be more susceptible to nystagmus due to the effects of nicotine.

Smoking can irritate your eyes, causing redness, and can make conditions such as dry eye and allergies worse. People who smoke and wear contact lenses may struggle more with redness than non-smokers.

Most people know that smoking is bad for your general health and linked to cancer and heart disease. But it's also bad for your eyes and can increase your risk of developing various eye diseases, some of which cause sight loss. You can help to reduce this risk by stopping smoking. It's also important to go for regular eye tests to monitor your eye health.

Many eye diseases don't cause noticeable symptoms at first. Having regular eye exams is an important part of eye care. Your optician may be able to detect changes in your eyes that you aren't yet aware of. There is a strong association between smoking and eye diseases, but other factors also play a role, including genetics and general health.