Statistics have shown that only 1 out of 5 smokers actually are aware of the risk smoking has on their eye health. The following information may convince folks that breaking the habit is imperative to insure a long and healthy life!

1. Cigarette smoke contains toxic chemicals that can irritate and harm the eyes. For example, heavy metals, such as lead and copper, can collect in the lens – the transparent bit that sits behind the pupil and brings rays of light into focus – and lead to cataracts, where the lens becomes cloudy.

2. Smoking can make diabetes-related sight problems worse by damaging blood vessels at the back of the eye (the retina).

3. Smokers are around three times more likely to get age-related macular degeneration – a condition affecting a person’s central vision, meaning that they lose their ability to see fine details.

4. Smokers are 16 times more likely than non-smokers to develop sudden loss of vision caused by optic neuropathy, where the blood supply to the eye becomes blocked.