Proof that smoking can ‘age’ us faster
We know smoking is bad, but American researchers may now have photographic proof.
We know smoking is bad, but American researchers may now have photographic proof.
Dr Bahman Guyuron, a plastic surgeon in Ohio who led the research, interviewed 70 pairs of identical twins and found that the twin who didn’t smoke had far less wrinkles and looked younger.
The ageing effect, according to researchers, was most prominent in the lower two thirds of the smoking twin’s face.
The photographs were analysed by plastic surgeons who were made to guess which twin was the smoker and the non-smoker.
The twin who smoked most likely has sagging eyelids, larger bags under their eyes, as well as wrinkling of the upper and lower lips.
According to Dr Guyuron, smoking reduces oxygen to the skin, decreasing blood circulation and therefore making the skin look weathered and wrinkled.
Researchers warned smokers that giving up or reducing the number of cigarettes they smoke could make a difference to the skin damage of their face.
The research was published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery journal.
