DOH: Smoking can cause blindness

The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday warned smokers that they may either go blind or suffer severe eye disorder if they do not quit the habit soon.

“Tobacco smoke damages the blood supply, thus exposing the body to free radicals which results in poor circulation to vital organs, including the eye,” DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said at a press briefing highlighting the celebration of Sight Saving Month.

DOH records showed there are now 456,694 people suffering from bilateral blindness or those who have difficulty counting fingers three meters away.

Of this figure, 283,150 have cataracts, 3,735 have glaucoma and 1,868 have retinopathy or maculopathy.

According to Dr. Dominga Padilla, president of the Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology, smoking reduces the “good elements” circulating in the body, exposing them to various illnesses.

Padilla noted that smokers double their chances of acquiring conditions like age-related macular degeneration, degradation of night vision, worsening of diabetic retinopathy and increased risk of permanent ischemic injury to the retina and optic nerve.

Duque said cigarettes oxidize the cholesterol in the body, causing fat to build up in the arteries. Second hand smokers are not spared from this complication.

“Carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke also creates oxygen deficiency. All these factors predispose a smoker to heart attack, stroke, defects in fetuses, lung and mouth cancer and many other diseases now strongly linked to smoking,” he added.

Studies showed that a cigarette stick contains around 4,000 toxic substances, 43 of which can cause cancer.