The risk of rosacea was significantly increased within 3 to 9 years since smoking cessation, and the significant association persisted among past smokers who had quit for >30 years, a recent study found. In order to determine the association between smoking and risk of incident rosacea, researchers included 95,809 women from Nurses’ Health Study II (1991–2005). Information on smoking was collected biennially during follow-up; information on history of clinician-diagnosed rosacea and year of diagnosis was collected in 2005. They found:

• During the follow-up, 5,462 incident cases of rosacea were identified.
• Compared with never smokers, there was an increased risk of rosacea associated with past smoking but a decreased risk of rosacea associated with current smoking.
• Increasing pack-years of smoking was also associated with an elevated risk of rosacea among past smokers, and was associated with a decreased risk of rosacea among current smokers.