RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the relationship between smoking and cutaneous ageing. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 301 subjects (191 women and 110 men, aged between 25 and 86 years), of which 165 were non-smokers and 136 were smokers and ex-smokers. The association between tabagism and cutaneous ageing was controlled for other variables (solar exposure, age, skin phototype, sex, sunscreen use, alcohol consumption, coffee consumption, sports participation, body mass index, and history of relatives with precocious ageing). RESULTS: Analysis revealed that age, chronic solar exposure, skin phototype and tobacco load significantly contributed to the formation of facial wrinkles. The larger the tobacco load, the larger was the amount of facial wrinkling, with an odds ratio of 3.92 in 'heavy' smokers (> 40 packs/year) in relation to non-smokers. CONCLUSION: The results of this study point to smoking as one of the main factors involved in facial wrinkling. The relationship between smoking and cutaneous ageing is an important element in educational campaigns against tabagism.