Reason Number Umpteenmillion To Quit Smoking: If you don't, You may go BLIND!

Subject:	Reason Number Umpteenmillion To Quit Smoking: If you don't, You may go BLIND!
Date:	02 Jan 2010 20:04:26 GMT

Smoking, leading cause of blindness
Sat, 02 Jan 2010 15:34:38 GMT

Smoking not only places individuals at an increased risk of
various health conditions but also increases the pace of
age-related macular degeneration.

Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular
degeneration is a chronic eye disease and the leading cause
of blindness among the elderly.

The condition is characterized by the deterioration of the
macula - a part in the eye responsible for central vision -
which leads to progressive vision loss.

According to a study published in the American Journal of
Ophthalmology, smokers are 11 percent more prone to AMD.

Smokers aged more than 80 are also 5.5 times more likely to
develop the disease, the study found.

Researchers therefore urged individuals to quit smoking in
order to save their visual sight, stressing that it is never
too late.

"We found that even older people's eyes will benefit from
kicking the habit," said lead researcher Anne Coleman.

PKH/HGH
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http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=115186§ionid=3510210
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