Smoking Can Cause Hair Loss

June 2008

Scientists have long speculated cigarette smoke may accelerate hair loss and premature graying. The association was largely attributed to toxins in smoke that can harm hair follicles and damage hormones.

According to epidemiological studies, that appears to be the case. A report in the journal BMJ looked at more than 600 men and women, half of them smokers.

After controlling for variables, the researchers found a “significant” and “consistent” link between smoking and early graying.

Last year, another team studied the link in a group of 740 men in Taiwan, aged 40 to 91 years, notable because Asian men generally have low rates of hereditary baldness. After controlling for age and family histories, the researchers found a greater rate of hair loss among the smokers, a risk that grew with increasing smoking.

One question is whether the link is a result of tobacco toxins directly affecting the scalp, or of smoking’s causing severe disease that speeds aging.

Smoking Can Cause Hair Loss