A good reason to start vaping? It is obvious ! Smoking affects the body quite severely, but more and more studies are emphasizing its harmful effects on the skin. In addition to causing premature aging, like UV rays, it can also promote certain dermatological diseases. However, nothing is lost! By quitting smoking, the effects may be reversible.
THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF TOBACCO ON THE SKIN!
The harmful effects of tobacco on the body are no longer to be proven. International studies published in this sense are legion. But what about its effect on the skin and skin diseases ?
Tobacco smoke contains thousands of toxic, mutagenic and carcinogenic substances. The tar and volatile gases in this smoke contain free radicals that will cause oxidative stress, that is, attack cells of the whole body. Thus, the effects of tobacco on the skin are direct, perhaps by topical action of the smoke on the face and the oral mucosa, but surely by its systemic action via the blood circulation. The skin will also suffer indirectly from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases caused by tobacco.
There are many concrete examples of the effect of tobacco on the skin. Tobacco causes premature aging of the skin. Its link with skin cancer is controversial, however. The fu
dying, often rebellious, would be less exposed to the sun and therefore to the risks of skin cancer. However, direct irritation of the oral mucosa leads in the long term to leukoplakia (i.e. thick white patches which do not come off when rubbed) which can progress in 5% of cases to a carcinoma of the mucous membrane oral.
Tobacco has also been shown to increase the risk of psoriasis. Under the influence of tobacco, this inflammatory disease also becomes more persistent and more resistant to treatment. The cause and effect relationship is also confirmed in palmoplantar pustular involvement, a skin condition characterized by pustules that appear on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.
Studies have also shown that the majority of patients with suppurative hydrosadenitis (chronic suppurative inflammatory disease of the large folds) are smokers. Smoking worsens the disease because nicotine clogs the hair follicles and attracts white blood cells to the skin.
In addition, smoking can reveal cutaneous lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease that can affect several organs including the skin and joints, causing resistant and scarring lesions. It also increases resistance to synthetic antimalarials, a basic treatment in this disease, because nicotine prevents their necessary accumulation in certain parts of the cells.
Finally, smoking has also been shown to delay healing, reducing capillary blood flow and the number of restorative cells. It also increases the risk of wound complications (infections, opening of the wound, necrosis).
THE AGING OF THE SKIN FOLLOWING TO SMOKING
Smoking causes premature skin aging. In fact, the skin of smokers gradually tightens, its complexion tarnishes, the bony prominence of the face becomes protuberant and the facial wrinkles narrower and deeper, particularly around the mouth and eyes. When smoking, the repeated movement of pursing of the lips and narrowing of the eyes - the smoke irritates the eyes - accelerates the appearance of these wrinkles. At the same time, the systemic toxicity of tobacco alters the network of elastic fibers in the dermis as in lung tissue, over-activates metalloproteinases, that is to say the enzymes which degrade collagen, and inhibits the pathways of remodeling and skin repair.
Can you improve your physical condition by quitting smoking ? Some clinical studies have shown an improvement in the complexion of the face, with attenuation of rosacea and pigmentation after four weeks of stopping, and an apparent rejuvenation of several years with correction of the texture, wrinkles, radiance and elasticity after six months of smoking cessation. So what are you waiting for to go vape?
