ASPS Reports Impact of Smoking on Facial Aging
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Experts always warn people about the adverse effects smoking may have on their looks and life. However, most habitual smokers continue their practice of smoking saying it gives them pleasure and a positive feel. A study by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) reveals the impact smoking has on facial aging. The study was made on smoking vs. non-smoking twins. The report in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery says that between twins, the one who smokes shows more premature facial aging, compared to his/her non-smoking identical twin. Pairs of identical twins who differed by smoking history were part of the study. In each of the pairs, one of the twins smoked and the other did not. Fifty-seven of the 79 twin pairs involved in the study were women and the average age of those who participated in the study was 48 years. Standardized, close-up photographs were taken of each twin's face. The participants were also asked to complete questionnaires on their medical and lifestyle histories. The twins' facial features such as grading of wrinkles and age-related features were analyzed. The objective of the study was to figure out how smoking affected "specific components of facial aging." The study reported considerable differences in facial aging between twins with as little as five years' difference in smoking history. 
For smokers, the scores were notably worse for a number of facial aging features.
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Some of the notable flaws were more sagging of the upper eyelids, more bags of the lower eyelids and under the eye, facial wrinkles, wrinkling of the upper and lower lips, and sagging jowls.
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Twins with a longer duration of the smoking habit had worse scores for a number of facial aging features.
The study concluded that "It is noteworthy that even among sets of twins where both are smokers, a difference in five years or more of smoking duration can cause visibly identifiable changes in facial aging." Smoking is just one of the factors that affect the facial appearance. Even when one decides to quit smoking after a certain phase of life, the effects of smoking may still continue to affect both health and looks. To restore a more youthful facial appearance, aesthetic procedures for the face are available and the results can last long, provided the patients follow a healthy lifestyle. When we say facial procedures, it includes not only surgical face lifts, but also minimally invasive liposuction and Botox and dermal fillers.