Smoking causes Acne in Women: Study

Sep 19 : Cigarette in my hand and I feel like a man….one famous song that tells that how it’s a matter of pride for some who goes on lighting up, till they fed away in the smoke. It is one of the worst things one can do to ones body…restricted in many public places.

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It is known one of the deadliest habits to cause harm in ones body with lung diseases, cancer, reduced body performance etc.

New findings link Acne in women who smoke. Italian researchers from the San Gallicano Dermatological Institute in Rome have found that smoking causes acne in human and affects women the most.

They discovered a particular type of acne known as NIA (non inflammatory acne), which is common in smoker.

This type of acne in smoker is characterised by blocked pores, large blackheads, which are less inflamed than normal acne.

The team studied 1000 women of 25-50 age groups and found that 42% of women, who smoke, suffer from acne, while only one out of ten non smokers was having skin disorders.

Also, it was noticed that the smokers who suffered acne in their teens, has chances of suffering four times more acne in their adult than non–smokers who also had experienced acne in their teenage.

With other variation in the skin make up in the smokers it was also found that they have half the secretion of Vitamin E in their skin then the non smokers.

Others factors like hormonal changes, stress, occupational and environmental factors have already been established.

Even the intense smoke from kitchen or steam was responsible for acne in half of the 10% non smokers.

Dr Bruno Capitanio, one of the study’s authors, said: “Our study demonstrates that NIA affects a high percentage of women, and is especially high among smokers.

“Recognizing this form of acne is fundamental to providing correct information about the effects of tobacco on the skin, which could contribute to anti-smoking information programmes.

“In some subjects the severity of acne, the clinical peculiarities, the strong correlation with smoking, and the biochemical data could lead to NIA being considered as a new entity among smoking-related cutaneous diseases, called ‘smoker’s acne face’.”

Dr Colin Holden, President of the British Association of Dermatologists, said: “Dermatologists have long associated smoking with premature ageing of the skin, wrinkles and a leathery complexion.

“However, scientists are now increasingly linking the habit with acne. For people who suffered acne as teenagers, the probability of also suffering acne in adulthood is four times higher in smokers than non-smokers. This suggests that smoking could be a major contributing factor for adult acne if you are already predisposed to the disorder.

“This study also shows an interesting link between a specific type of acne and smoking. All of these findings will hopefully provide people with an extra incentive to quit.”

It was observed that, 18.5% of women had acne, NIA affected 74.6 (three quarters) of those with acne, 76% of those with NIA were smokers, 81% of those with severe NIA were smokers and 91.3% of smokers who had acne had the NIA form. In case of the non smokers who had acne, Inflammatory Acne was the more common type (52.8%), and was always mild-to-moderate as opposed to severe, the non-smokers who suffered NIA, predisposing environmental factors not linked to smoking were identified almost half (48.9%) while acne is more common in smokers, the number of cigarettes smoked did not seem to make a difference.

The above finding was mentioned in the British Journal of Dermatology, the official publication of the British Association of Dermatologists.

This study may help women to quit smoke, who took up fagging for recreation, and to assert their presence as per with man.