Cigarettes, E-Cigarettes, and Your Eyes
Since the rise of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) use, studies have only focused on the systemic health effects of cigarettes and e-cigarettes. Only a few have reported their effects on the eyes.
A cross-sectional study published in the 2023 issue of JAMA Ophthalmology was conducted with participants of ages 13 and 24 years.
The study surveyed participants’ use of e-cigarettes and cigarettes from “ever used”, “used within the past 30 days”, “used within the past 7 days”, and “never used either”.
Their findings:
Those who used both cigarettes and e-cigarettes increased the chances of experiencing severe ocular symptoms.
Dual use of e-cigarettes and cigarettes had a higher proportion of severe to very severe ocular symptoms compared with those who exclusively used e-cigarettes or cigarettes.
Dual use “within the past 7 days” had more severe itching, redness, dryness, glare, blurriness, headaches, redness, burning and more frequent pain than all other respondents.
Interestingly, those who have “ever used” both in the past reported more severe dryness, blurriness and more frequent pain than those who had “never used either”.
The study admits that further longitudinal studies are needed to observe long-term symptoms and validate these findings.
Nevertheless, these results emphasize the importance of screening, counseling and treating all tobacco users in order to prevent and reduce ocular symptoms.
This is why your eye doctor may ask about nicotine use and provide suggestions to help alleviate any coinciding eye issues.
For reference, find the details and full study in the links below:
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/2809094