Now I have talked many a time on here what Smoking does to the lungs and the cardiovascular system and talked also about what it does to the appearance of the skin, causing premature ageing, this is due to the fact nicotine has a vaso-constricting effect, it narrows the blood vessels therefore impairing nourishment and oxygen to it. In fact smoking is linked to many cancers and diseases. About 90 per cent of lung cancer cases are caused by smoking. The habit is also thought to contribute to a wide range of other cancers, including those of the mouth, gullet, pancreas, stomach, bladder and kidney and now we have squamous cell carcinoma a type of skin cancer. A study found that women tended to be younger than men when they developed the disease, despite, on average, smoking much less than men. Findings suggest that women may have an increased susceptibility to tobacco carcinogens.
Squamous cell skin cancer usually occurs on the face, ears, neck, hands, or arm. It may occur on other areas. The main symptom is a growing bump that may have a rough, scaly surface and flat reddish patches. The earliest form appears as a scaly, crusted, and large reddish patch (often larger than 1 inch). A sore that does not heal can be a sign of squamous cell cancer.
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| OK this is very advanced but do you really want to take the risk? |
Article from the Daily Mail below.
Women who smoke for 20 years are twice as likely to develop disfiguring form of skin cancer
Women who smoke raise their risk of the skin cancer squamous cell carcinoma
Females are at greater risk than men of being diagnosed with a form of the disease that can spread to other organs.
And women who have smoked for 20 years or more are twice as likely to get the disease.
A team investigated the relationship between smoking and non-melanoma skin cancers - in the outer part of the skin - including squamous cell carcinomas (SCC).
SCC has a substantial risk of spreading from one organ to another. Developing on the face around the ears or lips, it can erode and completely destroy the nose or ear if left untreated. However, this is uncommon in the early stages and most are treated before any spread occurs.
In the study, smoking histories were assessed and compared between patients diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancers, and a group of patients who didn't have skin cancer or any history of the condition.
The 698 participants were asked about their smoking behaviours in terms of years smoked, how many cigarettes per day they smoked and when those who once smoked quit smoking.
The results showed that the risk increased with numbers of cigarettes per day and total years of smoking although most of the associations were not statistically significant.
However, SCC was found to be two times as likely in women who had smoked for 20 years or more compared to controls.
Lead author Dr Dana Rollison at the Moffitt Cancer Centre in Tampa, Florida, said: 'Highly statistically significant associations were observed with SCC.'
More... She said it was not clear why women smokers should be more likely than men to be diagnosed with SCC, but noted women have more active ‘CYP enzyme’ activity in the lung - which metabolises most of the nicotine.
She said: 'Observations from the lung cancer literature may provide possible explanations for why smoking was a higher risk for SCC in women.'
She said women smokers had a higher lung cancer risk than men, which may be because they have more enzyme activity that is associated with breaking down nicotine in the organ.
Women have also been shown to have higher levels of a piece of DNA bonded to a cancer-causing chemical, which could be the start of a cancerous cell, as well as lower levels of DNA repair - where enzymes repair mutations in the DNA - in the lung compared to men, she said.
She added: 'Further study is needed to shed more light on the sex-based differences and the role of smoking in non-melanoma skin cancers.'
The results are published in the journal Cancer Causes and Control.
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