They said that tobacco not only causes cancer, its prolonged consumption also may also lead to blindness, and often such cases are irreversible. People know that smoking and chewing of tobacco causes heart disease and cancer, but vision loss and other eye problems due to tobacco are not widely known,” said Dr Atul Kumar, Chief of Dr R P Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences in AIIMS. The only remedy is stopping tobacco consumption, Dr Kumar said. He also said long-term indiscriminate use of steroidal eyedrops, commonly applied in case of eye allergies, can result in glaucoma and lead to irreversible blindness. Dr Kumar said the AIIMS, in collaboration with the Union Health Ministry, is conducting a National Blindness survey to collect data about visual impairment and blindness in the country.

Source: Hindustan Times September 02, 2017 04:52 UTC