Skin and hair are exposed to various environmental noxious agents, including tobacco smoke. Tobacco smoke consists of thousands of substances that damage the skin, and nicotine itself is harmful.
Beyond its known links to cancer, lung and heart disease, smoking is associated with premature skin ageing, delayed wound healing, and increased infections, as well as a number of skin disorders.
There is a general observation that smokers tend to be more severely affected than non-smokers by the majority of inflammatory skin diseases (even acne) and various conditions are often more difficult to treat effectively in smokers.