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Course Summary

The effects of smoking on eye health – Steven Meynell & Susan Cowling (14:02)

One in five adults habitually smoke - representing a significant part of any optometrist’s patient pool. It is known that smokers are at greater risk of many diseases - including eye diseases - and knowing how to discuss this with them may help people to stop. Steven Meynell, an optometrist working at an Asda Opticians near Portsmouth has explored how smoking makes the eyes feel dry and made informal observations of changes to the eyes brought about by smoking. Susan Cowling talks to him about the range of eye conditions caused and exacerbated by smoking, and how optometrists can deal with the issues raised.

First published in DOCET OQ84 (2012).

    More information and references

    References:

    • Kelly SP, Thornton J, Lyratzopoulos G et al. (2004) Smoking and blindness. BMJ, 328:537
    • Thornton J, Edwards R, Mitchell P et al. (2005) Smoking and age-related macular degeneration: a review of association. Eye 19, 935-944; doi: 10.1038/sj.eye.6701978
    • Thornton J, Kelly SP, Harrison RA et al. (2007) Cigarette smoking and thyroid eye disease: a systematic review. Eye 21, 1135-1145; doi: 10.1038/sj.eye.6702603

      Audio track (~14 mins)Evaluation