Not too long ago, smoking was the end all be all of style. Every movie star put a cigarette to their lips at least once during every film. Kids were only cool if they had a pack of Lucky Strikes in their back pocket. And advertisements proudly proclaimed the multitude of benefits smoking brought you. However, times have changed. While stars still light up on camera, it doesn’t happen nearly as often, and it’s certainly not viewed as the glamorous act it once was. Anti-smoking groups crowd high school hallways, and “he smokes” is no longer a point in a date’s favor. As for the advertisements, there haven’t been any on TV or the radio since 1971. And since 1999, all of the pro-smoking billboards have been replaced with anti-smoking ones. Why the turn around? In case you haven’t heard, smoking is bad for you.

Yes, it’s true; cigarettes are harmful to your health. Smoking has been scientifically linked to cancer, heart disease, stroke, miscarriage, stillbirth, emphysema, aneurysms, bronchitis and the list continues. It seems we can’t go more than a week without a study revealing a link between smoking and yet another disease. Most recently, researchers from the University of Sydney found that smoking greatly increased a person’s risk for developing Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD). AMD is the leading cause of blindness in Americans over 60. It is a disease that gradually destroys a person’s central vision, leaving him/her unable to do common daily activities such as focus on other people’s faces, read or drive (Imagine every face you see looking like the ones pictured above). It can come on gradually or quickly and is more likely to occur in obese individuals, women, Caucasians and smokers. Current smokers are four times as likely and former smokers three times as likely to develop AMD.

Now maybe you’re thinking that AMD seems a long way off, after all “60” is years in the future and you’re vision is fine, perfect in fact. And maybe you are, rather disconcertingly, ignoring the other health risks. Well, stop. Feeling fine and noticing no health difference don’t mean that each cigarette isn’t hurting you. It is. And “60”, far in the distance as it may be, will be a lot more fun if you aren’t plagued by smoker’s cough, vision loss and any other of the possible ailments brought on by smoking. In short, if you want to live out your golden years in health or if you want to live out your golden years at all (smoking does dramatically affect life expectancy), stub out that cigarette. You’ll be happier in the end. And if you need a hand breaking the addiction, there is a lot of help out there for you. Click here to view a few products that might aid your transition from smoker to non-.

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