[Schertz, Jennifer]

Schertz, Jennifer  asked the Naked Scientists:

Hi.

My question is; is it the smoke in a cigarette that causes wrinkles, or the nicotine?  In other words, if I quit smoking and just chewed the gum, will it still have the same effect on my skin?

Jennifer Schertz

What do you think?

[RD]

Nicotine alone will still cause vasoconstriction: a reduction in the diameter of blood vessels.
Vasoconstriction reducing blood flow to skin is what causes smokers to have premature aging of skin (wrinkles).

However you will probably live longer if you switch from cigarettes to gum as you will be avoiding tobacco carcinogens.
http://www.smoke-free.ca/factsheets/pdf/Carcinogens.PDF