What do electronic cigarettes do to your body?/AP, Reuters, Getty Images, Shutterstock
According to a report published this week by the Ministry of Health showing a significant increase in the adult population that smokes, it appears that the rate of smokers in Israel is about 21%: among men, the rate of smokers is about 25.6% and is higher than the average in the countries of the European Union, which is 22.5%, as well as Smoking among women is about 14.8% and is also higher than the average in the European Union countries which is 13.9%.
Another alarming figure is that over 8,000 people die in Israel every year from smoking and this trend will continue and even increase as a result of the fighting.
Smoking has far-reaching and dangerous effects on health, but it also damages our appearance.
The grim picture of the smoking epidemic in Israel must rise to the agenda and emphasize the need to fight the phenomenon of smoking and its severe damages.
Reducing the phenomenon of smoking is one of the most important tasks in the field of public health, especially in informing about the consequences of smoking from malignant diseases, cardiovascular diseases including stroke, respiratory diseases, diabetes and more.
The harms of smoking do not end only with diseases, but also with a destructive effect on the skin of the face.
Wrinkles at a young age, damage to the oxygen supply to the skin and slower recovery from injuries are just some of the problems that arise on the skin.
We constantly talk about sun damage in the context of damage to the skin and body health in general.
But the environmental damage has a critical and important part in affecting the health of the organs of the whole body and in particular the skin.
The causes of skin aging and skin cancer are many but are affected by a great many reasons, starting with health status, medications, sun and of course smoking.
Smoking is one of the most critical factors that affect the health of all body organs, especially the skin.
What's more, smoking and sun damage have a synergistic effect on skin aging.
Eye circles/ShutterStock
How does the damage of smoking affect the skin?
Smoking aggravates sun damage:
Smoking aggravates sun damage and causes it to have a greater impact on the incidence of skin cancer.
Smoking harms the color of the nails:
Smoking harms the nails and its color and is a risk factor for diseases such as psoriasis, as well as slows down the healing of wounds.
Smoking harms skin repair:
it is important to remember that with age there is a decrease in the skin's ability to renew and repair itself, including wound healing - this is true mainly for diabetic patients but not only - this means that smoking can delay wound healing.
The skin ages much faster among smokers:
smoking "interferes" with the skin to neutralize free radicals (which age the skin) and also causes an increase in the enzymes that break down our collagen.
Wrinkles and wrinkles, especially around the mouth.
But not only that, smoking causes a significant decrease in the quality of the skin, an increase in the chances of cancer and the appearance of faded skin with a characteristic color of yellow brown - lifeless.
In addition, smoking damages the levels of vitamin A in the skin.
Vitamin A has many roles in the activity of the skin, which actually controls and regulates most of its functions, the division of cells and the rate of their regeneration, the creation of collagen and elastin and more.
It is an important factor in protecting the skin from damage, including smoking damage.
Low levels of it in the skin result in a greater chance of developing skin damage and a mature appearance.
The happy news:
the skin renews itself - even if you have reduced the number of cigarettes you use, or you have decided to stop smoking - this is not a blessing to be nullified.
The skin has the ability to renew itself.
Although some of the damage has already been done, the skin has the ability to recover.
Therefore, the sooner you stop smoking, the more efficiently the skin will be able to repair itself.
And finally, a tip for smokers:
it is important that you take care in winter and of course in summer about protection from the sun, a healthy lifestyle and a balanced diet.
In addition, you can turn to specialized aesthetic clinics for treatments with devices that encourage the skin to renew itself and get rid of the damage of smoking.
Dr. Lahvit Akerman is a dermatology specialist
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