Smoking and Vision Loss: Marlene’s Story of Macular Degeneration

Marlene started smoking in high school, after a neighbor showed her how to inhale; it seemed cool. She kept smoking through marriage and raising her children. Then, at 56, she began to lose her vision. Reading became hard, she cut herself by accident in the kitchen, and she fell even on a few steps. She had developed an advanced eye disease, age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

What AMD does

AMD can destroy the central vision needed to read, drive or recognize people’s faces. Marlene’s doctor told her that if she wanted to keep even a small part of her sight, she had to quit smoking.

Treatment

When a new drug came out that might slow her vision loss, Marlene was thrilled — and assumed it was a pill. It wasn’t: it had to be injected into her eyes. She has since had dozens of injections in each eye, and she needs more every month to keep from losing more vision. She knows she is lucky a treatment exists, but the shots in her eyes are upsetting every time.

Marlene tells her story through CDC’s Tips From Former Smokers campaign in the hope that it will help others quit as soon as they can.

Free help to quit

• Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669). Help is also available in Spanish (1-855-DÉJELO-YA), Chinese (1-800-838-8917), Korean (1-800-556-5564) and Vietnamese (1-800-778-8440).
• Text QUITNOW to 333888 (message and data rates may apply), or try CDC’s quitSTART app.
• Visit Smokefree.gov.

Sources

Based on "Marlene K.’s Story," Tips From Former Smokers, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain, with Marlene’s account rewritten in hubnx’s own words.