If an increased risk of respiratory illness, cancer and heart disease are not reason enough for many smokers to consider quitting, than perhaps a message focused on hair instead of health may do the trick.

Scientists have long speculated cigarette smoke may accelerate hair loss and premature graying. The association was largely attributed to toxins in smoke that can harm hair follicles and damage hormones. According to epidemiological studies, that appears to be the case. A report in the journal BMJ looked at more than 600 men and women, half of them smokers. After controlling for variables, the researchers found a “significant” and “consistent” link between smoking and early graying.

Last year, another team studied the link in a group of 740 men in Taiwan, aged 40 to 91 years, notable because Asian men generally have low rates of hereditary baldness. After controlling for age and family histories, the researchers found a greater rate of hair loss among the smokers, a risk that grew with increasing smoking.

One question is whether the link is a result of tobacco toxins directly affecting the scalp, or of smoking’s causing severe disease that speeds aging.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Several studies suggest smoking can lead to premature graying and hair loss.

如果呼吸系统疾病、癌症和心脏病增加的风险还不是让许多吸烟者考虑戒烟的充足理由，也许一条侧重于头发而代替健康的信息可能获得成功。

科学家早就推测香烟烟雾可能会加快脱发和过早老龄化。这种关联主要是由于烟雾中的毒素可能损害毛囊和破坏荷尔蒙。根据流行病学研究，情况看来是如此。BMJ（英国医学期刊）的一份报告查看了600多名男性和女性，其中一半人吸烟。在控制了一些变量之后，研究人员发现在吸烟和早期老龄化有“显著的”和“始终一贯的”联系。

去年，另一支队伍研究了在台湾的740名年龄40岁至91岁的一组男性中的这种联系，突出的因为亚洲男性通常具有较低的遗传性秃发比例。在控制了年龄和家庭历史因素之后，研究人员发现在吸烟者之中有更大的脱发比例，其风险随着吸烟的增加而增长。

一个问题是，是否这种联系是烟草毒素直接影响头皮的结果，还是吸烟引起严重疾病加速老龄化的结果。

基本要点

若干研究显示，吸烟可能导致过早老龄化和脱发。