WE APPLAUD the Health Promotion Board's anti-smoking campaign this year, targeting youth and focusing on the many benefits of abstaining from smoking ('New theme to keep youth from smoking', April 29).

We are concerned about the increase in smoking prevalence from 12.6 per cent in 2004 to 13.6 per cent in 2007. In particular, smokers aged between 18 and 29 increased by about 5 percentage points over the same period to 17.2 per cent.

As eye-care professionals, we wish to highlight a novel health message that has not been sufficiently emphasised and exploited locally.

Cigarette smoking has been associated with two common sight-threatening disorders, namely age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataract. AMD is the most common cause of blindness in developed countries, while cataract is the leading cause of blindness globally.

AMD is a deterioration of the macula, the central back portion of the light-sensitive layer in the eye (retina) responsible for sharp vision. Cataract is a clouding of the normally clear crystalline lens of the eye. Smoking increases AMD threefold to fourfold and cataract up to threefold.

A recent British study on 260 teenagers showed that while 81 per cent, 27 per cent and 15 per cent believed that smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease and stroke respectively, only 5 per cent were aware that it causes blindness.

However, the teenagers were significantly more fearful of blindness than of lung cancer, heart disease and stroke. In addition, more teenagers said they would stop smoking on developing early signs of blindness compared with early signs of lung cancer, heart disease and stroke.

In other words, while awareness of the risk of blindness from smoking is low among British teenagers, fear of blindness is more likely to motivate them to stop smoking than fear of other smoking- related conditions.

Experience in Australia and New Zealand has shown that the link between smoking and blindness acts as a powerful stimulus for smokers to quit.

'Smoking causes blindness' is a compelling, novel health message that has been relatively untapped and should be highlighted more publicly. We urge eye-care professionals to share this message with their clients and patients, and provide advice on quitting to smokers.

Dr Au Eong Kah Guan, Ophthalmologist

Miss Quah Hui Min, Optometrist, Singapore International Eye Cataract Retina Centre

Mr David Chong, President, Singapore Optometric Association

Mr Steve Lim, President, Singapore Opticianry Practitioners

This story was first published in The Straits Times.