…Gray hair from smoking… - research indicates link between smoking, hair loss and gray hair - Brief Article

Science News, Jan 11, 1997 by Kathleen Fackelmann

Then there's smoking. Aside from the risk of getting heart disease or cancer, smokers must endure a plethora of vanity-busters, including facial wrinkles, bad breath, and yellow teeth. Another report throws baldness and gray hair into that mix.

J.G. Mosley at the Leigh Infirmary in Lancashire, England, and his colleagues studied 268 men and 338 women attending an outpatient surgery clinic; 304 of them were smokers. The team noted each patient's smoking habits and assessed their hair color and degree of baldness.

After controlling for age, they found that smokers were four times more likely to have gray hair than nonsmokers. The team also found a link between hair loss in men and cigarette smoking. The results don't prove that smoking causes hair to fall out or turn gray, but the team believes it may speed the aging process. The authors hope the bad news will encourage smokers who have made a New Year's resolution to quit.