Ciggyfree Blog

Did you know…

The link between smoking and AMD (age-related macular degeneration) is now as robust as the link between smoking and lung cancer, yet few people are aware of the link or even of AMD. AMD is the UK’s leading cause of sight loss - there are around 500,000 people in the UK with AMD - and an estimated 54,000 people have the condition as a result of smoking.

Pauline Edwards, 50, from Salford, has AMD after smoking most of her adult life. Pauline said: “I smoked for years. Now I have AMD, am partially sighted in one eye and am likely to go blind. When you smoke you cannot imagine what it is like to have lung cancer and especially when you are young the risk of dying earlier doesn’t come into it. I am a nurse, I saw people die from smoking-related diseases and that did not make me kick the habit. But if I had been told that I could lose my sight because of smoking I would have given up. I stopped the day I found out.”

Steve Winyard, RNIB’s Head of Campaigns and Chairman of AMD Alliance UK, said: “Smoking is the only proven cause of AMD that people can do anything about yet people are not aware of the link and most people have not even heard of the condition. The message is simple: do not take up smoking and if you do – stop! People also need to make sure they have regular eye tests to check their eyes are healthy – an eye test can save your sight.