Don't let your skin go up in smoke

Sydney, May 25 (UNI) Most of us are clued up on the dangers of smoking on our health, but did you know the puffing habbit can play a havoc with your looks? With the World No Tobacco Day around the corner, efforts are being made to make people realise that smoking hastens the process of skin ageing than anything else apart from sun damage.

The Anti tobacco groups are now focussing on vanity and the fear of premature ageing to motivate the smokers for butting out.

New technology to prove the dramatic side-effects of tobacco on a smoker's appearance is the latest weapon to stop young people from taking up smoking.

In a matter of seconds, the newly-developed face-ageing software predicts ageing in 10-20 years for smokers and non smokers.

The program, once used by authorities to find missing persons, has been successfully exploited by health authorities to stop young women from smoking in Canada.

''This technology has the potential to be a strong strategy for smoking cessation,'' Sunday Mail quoted Cancer Council Queensland tobacco programme team leader Karen Donnelly as saying.

Smoking increases the amount of enzymes that break down collagen that results in loss of skin elasticity and firmness at a much faster rate than a non-smoker, cosmetic physician Van Huynh-Park said.

''Tobacco also decreases the blood supply to the skin, meaning less supply of essential nutrients needed for the skin to repair itself,'' he added.

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