Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) now affects the sight of over 600,000 older people in the UK with that figure expecting to rise to nearly 680,000 by the end of this decade, with another two million at risk.
The poll of MPs showed that only 14% of members thought that smoking ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ caused sight loss compared with 98% for lung cancer and 90% for heart disease.
In fact, smokers are up to four times more likely than non-smokers to develop AMD and smokers with certain genetic characteristics are 20 times more likely.
It is thought that around a third of all AMD is caused by the combination of genes and smoking.
For most people there is no treatment for their AMD. Some people can receive injections into their eyes to slow down the progress of the disease but research shows this works less well in smokers. ]
People with advanced AMD cannot drive, read or recognise faces. Many experience isolation and loneliness, loss of independence, depression and even suicidal thoughts.
The
Macular Society, the national charity for people with macular diseases, conducted the poll with Dods.
It says it is horrified by this ignorance of MPs about the link with smoking.
The Society is lobbying to speed up the introduction of sight loss warnings on cigarette packs.
“The fact that so few people are aware that smoking can lead to sight loss and blindness shows that more needs to be done to educate people about the dangers of smoking,” said Paul Burstow MP, chairman of the APPG on Smoking and Health and a former health minister.
"We are making progress when it comes to highlighting the link between smoking and heart disease and cancer, but it is clear that the next stage in developing packaging on cigarettes needs to be about the link to blindness.
"At the moment some people are aware of some of the dangers linked to smoking. We need to make sure that everyone is aware of all of the dangers and that sight loss is one of them."
Macular Society Chief Executive Tony Rucinski said MPs appear to be in the dark about the link between smoking and sight loss.
“This is terrible when in fact smoking is a major factor in the biggest cause of blindness in the country; age-related macular degeneration,” he said.
“600 young people start smoking every day in this country and they too are ignorant of the risks. We need sight loss warnings on cigarette packs now.”
An EU directive agreed to put the warning ‘smoking increases the risk of blindness’ on tobacco products two years ago but a lack of agreement on the accompanying pictures means it will not come into effect until 2016. The Macular Society wants MPs to demand faster action.
Lord Low of Dalston, chairman of the APPG on Eye Health and Visual Impairment said: “Over the past decade the APPG for Eye Health has strongly supported the campaign to get ‘Smoking causes blindness’ warnings on cigarette packets and other tobacco products. This was finally agreed by the EU in 2013 and we warmly welcome the efforts of the Macular Society to secure early implementation in the UK.
“Like their constituents, the great majority of MPs are unaware of the strong links between smoking and sight loss and if the Macular Society's survey had included Peers there can be little doubt that the findings would be the same!
“The sooner that written and pictorial warnings are introduced the better.”