Studies have shown that smoking can lead to a three-fold rise in risk of macular degeneration, cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and dry eye syndrome. Dr Rohit Saxena, ophthalmologist at All India Institute of Medical Science here, said, “While there is minimal direct evidence of the effect of smoking on the eye, it can however lead to blindness due to macular damage, cataract, worsening diabetic retinopathy, incease the chance of glaucoma and dry eye,” adding that these conditions are seen more frequently in smokers than non-smokers. Ophthalmologist Dr Ikeda Lal explained that smoking has been found to be the cause of escalation in various vision-related diseases, like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, uveitis and cataract. It is crucial to understand that these diseases can happen due to various other risk factors as well.

Source: dailyhunt.in