Via practica 6/2019
The effect of smoking on the skin and skin diseases
Tobacco smoking is a significant risk factor for various diseases, including skin affections. The smoker‘s skin is regularly exposed to the negative effect of many toxic substances causing significant skin damage and acceleration of skin aging, as well as providing the suitable conditions for the development of other skin diseases. Smoking has been proven as a significant etiopathogenetic risk factor for chronic inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis, palmoplantar pustulosis, hidradenitis suppurativa, or autoimmune diseases such as chronic discoid lupus. In addition, smoking has a negative impact on healing process of acute and chronic wounds and has a significant carcinogenic effect resulting in increased risk of spinocellular carcinoma development. Despite the enormous effort to inform the public about the risks that smoking poses, it still remains a substantial cause of preventable mortality.
Keywords: tobacco smoking, hidradenitis suppurativa, palmoplantar pustulosis, skin aging
