Tobacco.org

Ask Dr. H: Smoking ages skin; here's why  

There are two types of effects: Directly, many of the more than 4,000 chemicals in cigarette smoke are toxic to skin. Indirectly, chronic squinting of the eyes to keep out smoke, and pursing or puckering of the lips while holding a cigarette, both cause facial wrinkles.

Cigarette smoke contains carbon monoxide and many other oxidants that promote the formation of age-inducing, skin-toxic free-radicals. Nicotine is a stimulant that causes the blood vessels to constrict, reducing the supply of oxygen to the tissues of the skin. Smoking also depletes Vitamin C, which is important for collagen production in the skin. And it induces changes at the cellular level to interfere with the formation of fibroblasts - cells that form connective tissue in the skin.

All these biochemical changes occur as a result of the chemicals in cigarette smoke.

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