Photo Credit: Nikkytok

A study conducted from May 2017 to October 2020 examined the association between tobacco smoking and various skin conditions in 488 adults at risk of skin cancer. The cross-sectional study, published online in Tobacco Induced Diseases, assessed participants for skin lesions, photoaging severity, nevi, and tobacco pack-years (TPY), considering confounding factors like age. Logistic regression analyses revealed no significant association between TPY and total or facial photoaging, actinic keratosis, nevi, or skin cancers, including melanoma and basal cell carcinoma. However, participants who smoked showed an elevated crude odds ratio (OR, 1.99) for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) compared with non-smokers. Further analysis indicated that TPY 10 or less was associated with a higher adjusted odds ratio (AOR, 4.90) for SCC, while TPY greater than 10 was not.