How Cigarettes Cause 'Smoker's Face'

Cigarette smoke and its component chemicals may damage your skin by:

• Causing elastin, the normally long, smooth and elastic fibers in skin, to thicken and break apart.

• Reducing blood circulation, thereby reducing oxygen supplies to the skin. This may reduce the body's ability to form collagen, the main structural component of the skin.

• Cutting estrogen levels in women, causing skin dryness and cracking.

• Reducing levels of vitamin A, causing premature wrinkling.

• Heating the skin.