DISH at Merton Priory: evidence for a "new" occupational disease?

Although the development of noticeable lines on the face is usually associated with smoking, this is not always so. Although no such persons were encountered during this survey, non-smokers are occasionally encountered with lined faces suggestive of smoker's face. These people tend to be women and although their faces are lined, their complexions are usually sufficiently clear to suggest that in fact they are either non-smokers or past smokers. Apart from being clinically important in the documentation of a patient the fact that smoking can affect the face so profoundly is important because it is so readily appreciated by patients themselves. In my experience many people notice the ravages of smoking for the first time when it is pointed out to them that they can be identified as smokers by their faces alone. Properly explained and perhaps supported by posters bearing photographic examples, the concept of smoker's face might be helpful in antismoking