U.S. scientists have found that cigarette smoke not only accelerates the aging of the skin in areas that receive sunlight but also those hidden from the sun's rays, a study published today in the journal Archives of Dermatology. The investigation determined that secondhand smoke was a factor that increased the skin lesions in areas like the inside top or bottom of the buttocks. Until now it was known that the smoke was combined with the sun to cause premature wrinkling of the skin, but the study by scientists at the Health System, University of Michigan, adds a new dimension to the link between smoking and the damage to the skin, the scientists said. "We examined skin protected from sunlight and discovered that the number of cigarettes smoked

per day and the number of years a person has smoked were linked with the level of skin lesions," said Yolanda R. Helfrich, study author and professor of dermatology at the Medical School of the University. The researchers reached this conclusion after developing a nine-point scale for measuring the degree of aging of the inner area of the skin from the arms of 77 participants. Scientists look at the photographs and the scores in which zero represented no wrinkles and fine wrinkling and eight represented severe. They also examined photographs of the participants one year later and the scores to determine the level of increase in injuries. It also collected information on participants in interviews, such as age, ethnicity, smoking history, use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, use of dietary supplements and herbal, exposure to sunlight, in the case of the number of children women, hormone treatments and contraceptives. The people who participated in the study were smokers or had been by an average of 24 years. In general, participants over 45 years, the degree of skin aging was significantly higher among smokers than among nonsmokers. In the group aged 45 to 65 years, smokers had a mean score of more than two, while nonsmokers had an average of less than one. In the over 65 years, smokers had an average score of six, while nonsmokers had an average of four, the scientists said.