ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 13, 1997 TAG: 9701130140
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LONDON
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Smoking brings on skin wrinkles more quickly and generally hastens the aging process, according to a study released Sunday.
Britain's state-funded Health Education Authority said it hoped the study - based on observations of identical twins - will sway young smokers, the group most likely to ignore warnings about lung cancer and other health risks.
``It's always been known from observation that smoking makes you age more quickly, but this has never been demonstrated in much scientific detail before,'' said Dr. Tim Spector, head of the twin research unit at St. Thomas' Hospital.
The hospital - studying more than 1,000 sets of twins as part of research to identify genes behind a variety of diseases - found 50 sets comprising a nonsmoker and a lifelong smoker, Spector said.
On average, the smoking twin had skin 25 percent thinner than the nonsmoker. In a few cases, the difference was 40 percent.
Wrinkles occur as the skin thins. Identical twins, who have the same genes, would age at the same rate unless affected by external factors.
Researchers used ultrasound to gauge the inner-arm skin thickness of the twins.
Smoking may cause the release of an enzyme that breaks down skin elasticity or may restrict the blood supply to the skin, the study says.
``Doctors say they can recognize smokers' faces because they look more wrinkled and haggard,'' Spector said.
Statistics show one-third of Britons ages 16 to 24 are regular smokers, an increase of 5 percent among young women since 1994.
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