The epidermis, the outermost layer of your skin, has no blood supply of its own. All the tiny arteries and capillaries that feed the epidermis run through the dermis and the fat pad below it.

Therefore, it’s logical to assume that anything which impedes blood flow and the blood’s ability to carry oxygen to the cells will be very harmful to the skin.

Here are two simple equations:

No blood supply & oxygen = No epidermal turnover = Dry, irritated flaky skin

No blood supply & oxygen = No collagen production = Saggy, wrinkled, loose skin

Dry, irritated flaky, saggy, wrinkled, loose skin does not sound very attractive to me. How about you?

There is nothing more dangerous to small vessel blood flow, cell oxygenation and your overall health than cigarettes.

If you want beautiful, smooth, healthy skin for the rest of your life, don’t smoke – ever – period. If you smoke, quit. Smoking is absolutely the worst thing for your skin (and the lungs, heart, arteries and veins).

Smoking destroys the lining in blood vessels which, in the skin, are quite small, and makes these vessels highly susceptible to blockage.

Carbon Monoxide

Slow burning, packed tobacco does not burn completely; a significant portion of every puff is Carbon Monoxide. This is the same stuff which spews out of your car’s exhaust pipe. It is the gas people intent on committing suicide breathe to kill themselves. They sit in a closed garage with the car running to intentionally inhale this poison.

How does carbon monoxide cause injury and death? Living cells require oxygen. Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout our bodies.

 Think of red blood cells as seats on a train and oxygen or carbon monoxide molecules as potential passengers in these seats. Carbon monoxide molecules preferentially bind with red blood cells, preventing oxygen molecules from binding so they can’t reach your skin. Carbon monoxide molecules push the oxygen passengers out of their seats and off the train, and take their seats instead. Carbon monoxide literally causes your skin cells (all your cells, in fact) to suffocate for lack of oxygen.