What is the risk?
Twenty two percent* of UK adults are doubling the risk of losing their sight, according to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB).
The link between smoking and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) has proven to be as strong as the link between smoking and lung cancer, yet few people are aware of the link or even of AMD.
Age related macular degeneration
AMD is the UK's leading cause of sight loss. Around 500,000 people in the UK have AMD and an estimated 54,000 people have the condition as a result of smoking.
Research shows that only seven per cent of people know that AMD affects the eyes, but that seven out of 10 smokers would either stop smoking permanently or cut down if they thought it could harm their eyesight.
Barbara McLaughlan, Campaigns Manager, Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), said: "Whilst people are generally aware that smoking causes cancer, they don't realise that they are gambling with their eyesight. People who smoke not only double the risk of developing AMD, they also tend to develop it earlier than non-smokers do."
Further information
For more information about how smoking threatens eyesight, visit RNIB's website www.rnib.org.uk
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For more information contact Stacey Kerr, Senior Media Relations Officer, RNIB. Tel 020 7391 2290. Email stacey.kerr@rnib.org.uk or Susan Duncan, Media Relations Manager, RNIB, 020 7391 3291, susan.duncan@rnib.org.uk
Notes to editors
* Twenty two per cent of adults aged 16 and over smoked in 2008/09. Opinions Survey Report No. 40 Smoking-related Behaviour and Attitudes, 2008/09 ONS
About RNIB
1. Everyday around 100 people in the UK start to lose their sight. There are almost 2 million people in the UK with sight problems. RNIB is the leading charity working in the UK offering practical support, advice and information for anyone with sight difficulties. If you, or someone you know, has a sight problem RNIB can help. Call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or visit www.rnib.org.uk.