Kick This Deadly Habit to Look Younger and Live a Decade Longer

As if you didn’t need another reason to butt out that cigarette, there’s overwhelming evidence that smoking is one of the leading causes of aging. We all age, but smokers show it more than any segment of the population because cigarette smoke exacerbates the causes of aging.

A recent study out of Ohio set out to determine the real link between smoking and aging well. Researchers observed 79 sets of twins between the ages of 18 and 79—in each pair, either one twin smoked and the other one didn’t, or one twin smoked for at least five years longer than their sibling. Experts who specialize in detecting signs of aging well were then asked to analyze photographs of each pair. They specifically looked at wrinkles, bags under the eyes, and skin discoloration, all of which are signs that someone isn’t aging well.

Upon reviewing photographs of each pair, researchers found that the smoking twin was identified as looking older than the non-smoker more than half (57%) of the time. When one twin smoked for longer, they were said to look older 63% of the time, which means just five years of smoking can have a significant impact on aging well. It was clear the long-term smokers weren’t aging well because they had more noticeable sagging and bags under the eyes; more lines and wrinkles, especially around the mouth; and sagging jowls.

Why Smoking Impairs Aging Well

• Wrinkles: One of the most noticeable causes of aging from smoking is wrinkles. If you puff, you can expect the effects of age to speed up by 1.4 years, because smoking restricts the flow of blood that keeps skin young and supple looking. Smoking also affects aging well, especially your skin, because it reduces the production of collagen in your body, and collagen is what keeps your skin firm and toned.

• Hair: Smokers can expect more gray and thinning hair as another barrier to aging well. Experts believe that the chemicals in cigarette smoke cause damage to the DNA in hair follicles and create free radicals that cause damage to cells. Studies have shown that male smokers are less likely to experience aging well when it comes to their hair because they’re more likely to lose it.

• Teeth: At one time, tooth loss was one of the inevitable causes of aging. However, with advances in dental care, people can often keep their teeth well into their senior years. This isn’t the case for smokers, whose oral health definitely won’t be aging well. If you smoke, you can expect to develop a myriad of dental problems. A 2005 study in The Journal of Periodontologyreported that smokers are six times more likely to develop gum disease, which leads to decay and tooth loss.

• Werner’s Syndrome: There’s evidence that the effects of smoking on aging well are very similar to Werner’s syndrome, a genetic condition that causes premature aging in patients. People who suffer from Werner’s syndrome lack a particular protein, and that protein has been shown to be decreased in smokers.

• Heart Disease: Smoking is one of the biggest causes of heart disease, which obviously puts a stop to aging well. The chemicals in cigarettes lead to plaque buildup in your arteries. When that plaque hardens, your arteries get narrower, which inhibits their ability to carry healthy, oxygen-rich blood through your body. Plaque can also build up in your coronary arteries, which can lead to heart attack, arrhythmias, and heart failure. Aging well is impossible if your most vital organ isn’t functioning properly.

• Cancer: It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that smoking causes cancer, another obviously huge obstacle for aging well. The majority of lung cancer deaths in the U.S. (90% among men, 80% among women) are the result of smoking. Smoking has also been linked to cancer of the throat, mouth, esophagus, stomach, kidney, cervix, bladder, and pancreas.

• Lifespan: Smoking not only compromises aging well, but it hinders longevity, too. A recent study discovered that people who smoke are cutting at least a decade off of their life expectancy. And it isn’t too late to quit; it’s also been shown that butting out before the age of 40 can reverse the signs of aging and can even reduce the risk of death by up to 90%.
Resource: agein.com