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Female smokers may be much more likely to develop non-inflammatory acne (NIA) than women who don't smoke, says an Italian study in the British Journal of Dermatology.
Researchers looked at more than 1 000 women and found that 40 percent of those who smoked had NIA, compared with 10 percent of non-smokers.
Blocked pores, large white heads and small cysts are characteristic of NIA.
The team at the San Gallicano Dermatological Institute in Rome said they conducted the study in women because the condition seems to be more prevalent in women than in men.
Compared to non-smokers, smokers in the study had half the levels of skin secretions of vitamin E and had other skin-related variations.
The study also found that smokers who had acne in their teens were four times more likely to suffer NIA than non-smokers who experienced teen acne.
