The Nation - News from Sept. 5, 1989

Giving up smoking appears to offer yet another health benefit--a lessened chance of developing cataracts, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute in Baltimore. In a study believed to be the first of its kind, the researchers found that people who have quit smoking for at least 10 years have half the risk of developing severe nuclear cataracts of those who continue smoking. The results held regardless of the number of cigarettes smoked or the age at which people began smoking. The study involved 838 Chesapeake Bay men, 62% of whom smoked, with more than half heavy smokers. Researchers said the data showed that the longer someone smoked, and the heavier they smoked, the higher the risk and severity of cataracts.