Smokers are twice as likely as non-smokers to develop age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness among over-50s in the UK, warn experts.

The Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) says that the link between smoking and AMD has now been shown to be as strong as that for lung cancer.

But despite this, few people are aware of smokers' increased risk of AMD, or even what the condition is.

A survey of 1023 adults in the UK carried out by the AMD Alliance UK showed that just 7% knew that the condition affects the eyes. Moreover, 41% of smokers questioned said they would quit smoking permanently if they thought it could harm their eyesight, with a further 28% saying that they would cut down on the number of cigarettes they smoked a day.

Steve Winyard, head of campaigns at the RNIB and chairman of the AMD Alliance UK, said: "Smoking is the only proven cause of AMD that people can do anything about, yet people are not aware of the link and most people have not even heard of the condition.

"RNIB is calling on the Government to introduce specific warnings on cigarette packets and to fund a major public awareness campaign on the dangers of smoking to your eyesight," he added.

The warning follows a review, published in April, of 17 studies investigating the link between AMD and smoking. Dr Simon Kelly, an ophthalmic surgeon at Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust, and colleagues found that 13 studies showed a statistically significant association between smoking and AMD, with smokers having a two- to three-fold increased risk of developing AMD compared with never smokers.

"The additional ocular as well as systemic hazards of smoking should be highlighted to the public and patients," they write in the journal The Eye.

v Campaigns in Australia and New Zealand highlighting the risk to eyesight caused by smoking have been encouraging, with some showing more success than campaigns highlighting lung cancer and heart disease risks, add the researchers.

"A survey amongst patients in Bolton also published today suggests that fear of blindness is as compelling as fear of lung cancer and heart disease as a motivator to quit," added Dr Kelly. "In my clinical experience, when people are diagnosed with AMD and learn of the link with smoking, they are often sufficiently shocked and motivated to want to stop smoking straight away."

Useful Links
Royal National Institute of the Blind
AMD Alliance UK