Chapter 11 Other health problems

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Other health problems: Cataracts and Eye Problems

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Smoking triggers 200,000 of the one million yearly cases in the United States of

cataracts, the leading cause of blindness. This costs the nation $800 million in extra

Medicare services. But Philip Morris funds Helen Keller Services for the Blind and

Entertainment for the Blind.

World Smoking and Health No. 1, 1993, p. 2

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Cataracts cause visual impairment in 3 million Americans, a million of whom have

operations each year to have clouded lenses removed from their eyes. Smoking

causes 20% of these cases; male smokers of a pack a day or more double their risk

of cataract, and women smokers have a 60% greater risk.

JAMA, August 26, 1992, p. 989 and Time, September 7, 1992, p. 22

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Age-related macular degeneration involves a deterioration of the center of the visual

field, causing a roughly circular area of blindness that gradually grows larger. It is

responsible for at least 1.7 million cases of impaired vision in Americans over 65, and

is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in that age group. Smoking increases

the risk of this condition by two to three times; almost one third of cases are

attributable to smoking.

Associated Press, October 9, 1996 (from JAMA issue same date)

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As compared to nonsmokers, smokers are 2.5 times more likely to develop

age-related macular degeneration, which is untreatable and blinding in most cases,

and up to 3 times more likely to develop cataract. The increased risk of blindness

should be added to the better-known arguments against smoking.

Survey of Ophthalmology 42:535-547,1998

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Thursday, July 06, 2000

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