Tip #2 for healthy skin: Don't smoke (and watch the alcohol)
Research shows that smoking alone ages skin. In a study published in the Archives of Dermatology in 2007, researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbour, in the US, described how they examined the upper inner arms of smokers and non-smokers aged from 22 to 91 and found that after taking into account age and other variables, the number of packs of cigarettes that the smokers smoked per day was significantly linked to skin ageing. They looked at the skin on the upper inner arms to minimize the influence of sun exposure.
Indy Rihal from the British Skin Foundation told NHS Choices that smoking reduces the skin's natural elasticity by promoting the breakdown of collagen and also reducing the amount that is produced.
Collagen, a protein that helps skin strength, gradually degrades with age, leading to wrinkles. Smoking causes this to happen sooner and also causes the tiny blood vessels in the skin to tighten, which reduces the amount of oxygen and nutrients that the skin cells receive, which also reduces elasticity and accelerates ageing.
The Mayo Clinic also suggest that exposure to heat from burning cigarettes damages facial skin and that certain smoking behaviours contribute to wrinkles, because of the repetitive facial expressions that smokers make, such as pursing the lips on inhaling and squinting their eyes to keep the smoke out