Smoking damages nearly every organ in the body. Whilst most people are familiar of its association with lung cancer, stroke
and heart disease, it also has profound effects on the body’s largest organ – skin.
Some of the cutaneous effects of smoking are:
- Premature skin ageing
- Poor wound healing
- Inflammatory skin conditions like psoriasis, lupus etc.
Smokers are also at higher risk of developing a type of skin cancer known as Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Even individuals
that only smoke a few cigarettes a day remain at risk of this.
Smoking and Viral Infections of the Skin:
Genital warts are caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). Smoking enhances the risk of developing genital warts. This may be related to the immunosuppressive effects of nicotine.
Smokers also have a higher risk of developing wart virus related cancers including cancer of the vulva, anus, and penis.
By Dr Anjali Mahto, Consultant Dermatologist & British Skin Foundation Spokesperson
Source: news-medical.net
No comments:
Post a Comment