Did you know smoking can cause blindness?

More a subject for Chris Snowden (Velvet Glove Iron Fist) or Dick Puddlecote (Dick Puddlecote) - but anyway........


While waiting for a neighbour for whom I had provided a lift to our local doctor's surgery, I pondered all the notices and leaflets exhorting us not to do this that or the other for health reasons. One that caught my eye was headlined as this post and dealt with 'Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). The leaflet advises that studies have shown that smoking more than doubles the risk of developing AMD and that smokers are more likely to suffer from all types of AMD. It then goes on to state that an estimated 53,900 UK residents over 69 may have AMD attributable to smoking. (my emphasis).


From the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) we are informed that: "At the moment, the exact cause for AMD is not known". Medical News Today advises: "In summary, while controlling for other factors, smoking appears to be related to the incidence and progression of AMD in our population". (again, my emphasis).


Cmon chaps, either smoking does cause AMD, or it appears to cause AMD, or the exact cause for AMD is not known. Just make up your damn mind - please?


Just asking..................




Afterthought: Scared to Death, a book by Richard North and Christopher Booker, had a chapter on smoking and is well worth a read - not just on this subject, either.