Smoking and Eye Health

Smoking, and exposure to smoke, significantly increases your chances of developing eye disease and suffering sight loss. It’s never too late to benefit from stopping and the sooner you stop, the better the outcome is likely to be.

The following five eye conditions are related to smoking. 

1. Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) – smokers are up to four times more likely to AMD.
2. Cataracts – smoking doubles the risk of developing cataracts.
3. Dry eye – smoking often causes this condition or makes it worse.
4. Uveitis – smokers are at least twice as likely to develop uveitis – a condition where the middle layer of the eyeball becomes inflamed, causing eye pain and changes to vision.
5. Diabetic retinopathy – smoking increases your risk of developing retinopathy for people who are diabetics, where the blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye become damaged.

Useful Links

Vision Ireland

HSE – Tobacco Free Ireland Programme

HSE – Quit smoking with our help

Fighting Blindness

RTE