Smoking significantly increases your risk of developing macular degeneration. Smoking is particularly linked to a severe form of macular degeneration that causes a rapid loss of vision. This form of macular degeneration is more than twice as likely to occur in smokers as in nonsmokers.
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You probably learned in science class that the part of your eye that actually enables you to see is the retina. Macular degeneration is a disorder of the retina -- specifically, of the central part of the retina, which is called the macula. When people have macular degeneration, they develop a blurry spot or blind spot right in the middle of their field of vision. People with macular degeneration have normal peripheral (on the side) vision, but they have impaired central, or "straight-ahead" vision. They can't see things properly when they look straight at them.
Macular degeneration is an age-related disease; it occurs mostly in older people and is the most common cause of impaired eyesight in older Americans. The visual impairment that results from macular degeneration cannot be corrected with eyeglasses, contact lenses, or surgery. In many people who have macular degeneration, the visual impairment becomes so severe that the person cannot read normal print without special magnifying devices and cannot drive a car at all. There are some treatments that may slow down macular degeneration if it is getting worse, but this disease cannot be cured.
