Q How does smoking affect the skin?
Smoking constricts blood vessels and decreases oxygen supply by hampering blood supply which in turn reflects as wrinkled skin and dull skin complexion. Cigarette smoke also contains the following deadly cocktail of chemicals: Ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, butane, nicotine, carbolic acid, collidine, formic aldehyde, lutidine, parvoline, prussic acid, pyridine, arsenic and cadmium. The liver goes into overdrive trying to expel these chemicals from the body and cannot perform its normal functions properly. The skin loses its healthy glow and takes on a yellowish-gray cast. The more cigarettes smoked, the worse your skin will look. When we inhale the smoke from a cigarette the carbon monoxide from the smoke is absorbed by the hemoglobin in the blood. The blood can absorb carbon monoxide 200 times as fast as oxygen so a lot of the oxygen is displaced by carbon monoxide. The organs including the skin are starved of life giving oxygen and slowly poisoned by the carbon monoxide. Smoking also causes premature aging in two ways. It uses up vitamin C in the body, about 35mg for each cigarette. Vitamin C is an unstable vitamin and cannot be manufactured by the body. One of its functions is the preservation of the collagen in the skin, the substance that gives skin its plump and youthful appearance. The collagen breaks down causing premature wrinkles around the eyes and mouth. The physical act of smoking causes us to squint, exaggerating the wrinkles around the eyes.