Shocking images show difference between identical twins when one smoked and the other didn't

A study has highlighted one of smoking's lesser-known side effects - the impact it can have on appearance.

In 2007, researchers examined identical twins where only one twin smoked and the visual differences were striking.

Titled ‘Smoking and Skin Aging in Identical Twins’, the study from Arch Dermatol looked at a pair of identical female twins who in their later decades ‘had the same type of job at the same latitude, resulting in well-matched levels of significant sun exposure’.

But a key difference was that the twins ‘differed markedly’ in their smoking history.

Twin 1 was the smoker. (Arch Dermatol/JAMA Dermatology)

While Twin 2 was a nonsmoker who had never smoked, Twin 1 smoked cigarettes and had approximately 52.5-pack-year smoking history.

And the pair had a ‘marked disparity in the degree of facial aging’.

Examined at the age of 52, they had an identical genetic background, ‘minor medical histories and similar significant sun exposure histories’.

The non-smoker had a better score. (Arch Dermatol/JAMA Dermatology)

But, the non-smoking twin had a ‘significantly less’ degree of facial aging. Basically, Twin 1 had more ‘mild fine wrinkling, scattered lentigines, mild-density hypopigmentation, and mild skin laxity’.

Or, if we’re putting it in really simple terms for us, the smoking sister’s skin had more signs of aging than the non-smoker.

The study gave each of them a score according to the 6-point photographic scale for photodamage created by Larnier et al.

Both men here were smokers, however the right-hand twin smoked for 14 years longer. (American Society of Plastic Surgeons)

Twin 1 got a grade five (severe) and Twin 2 got a grade two (mild to moderate).

It concluded: “The difference in skin aging illustrated by this twin pair may serve as a motivator for smoking cessation.”

"Smoking harms virtually every organ in the body, including your skin," added Danny McGoldrick, vice president for research at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

"Whether you are doing it for vanity or your health, one of the most important health decisions of your life is not to start smoking, or to quit if you have."

Another study from researchers at the Department of Plastic Surgery at Case Western Reserve University looked at other pairs of twins where only one of them had smoked or had smoked far more than the other.

The twin on the left here is a non-smoker. (American Society of Plastic Surgeons)

And in this you can again see clear differences in their appearances.

Dr. Bahman Guyuron, who led the research, explained to CNN: “Smoking reduces the collagen formation, results in collagen degradation and reduces the skin circulation.

“Additionally, nicotine reduces the skin thickness. All of these reduce skin elasticity and (cause) premature aging."

That study found that those who smoked scored worse for wrinkles around the lips, jowls and upper eyelid skin redundancy.

Additional words by Anish Vij.